New research commissioned by NMHC finds that despite all the attention given to the rising home-ownership rate, top-end rental apartments are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. housing market. The report, The Upscale Apartment Market: Trends and Prospects, is the first statistical analysis of this sector of the housing market. It was authored by Jack Goodman of Hartrey Advisors and produced by NMHC with support from Equity Residential Properties Trust and Legacy Partners Residential.

According to the report, the number of apartment households with real income exceeding $50,000 has been increasing nearly eight percent annually, well above the rate of growth in the larger, middle-income rental market. The report examines how upscale renters differ from other apartment renters and how they are similar. It finds that upscalers themselves are not homogenous. Half could be labeled "transitionals," while nearly 30 percent are long-term "lifestyle" residents who have been in their apartment for at least four years even though they could afford to buy a house. Lifestylers are older, more likely to be found in the Northeast and big cities, and more often single women.