Before Deciding Americans Prefer Renting, Maybe We Should Find Out If They Can Afford to Buy Zillow says something interesting is happening to the American renter. Once viewed largely as a temporary stop on the way to homeownership, renting is increasingly becoming a deliberate long-term choice, Zillow claims. It calls the people making it “lifestyle renters.” Renting Is A Legitimate Long-Term Option, Not A Fallback So says Zillow Chief Economist Mischa Fisher. For some people, it absolutely is. But Zillow points to another statistic as evidence of this changing attitude: Only 42% of renters say they would be very or