Chris Clackum, NBC

There's an interesting twist to the sour housing market.

According to census bureau stats, the number of homeowners is at its lowest point since 1998, 

Which explains why there's a rise in the number of people renting instead of buying.

"Obviously, the economic conditions are playing into it, but when we ask those people why they're choosing to rent instead of buying another home, they were citing things like the flexibility that comes with living in an apartment," says Apartments.com vice president Chris Brown.