Despite the fact that most mainstream economists dismiss any sort of uptick in price inflation, the amount of rent that Americans paid this year shot up nearly $21 billion to a grand total of $441 billion.

According to a new report from Zillow Inc., a Seattle-based real estate information service, fewer Americans purchased a home and landlords increased their leasing charges. The report discovered that the number of rental households rose by 770,000, or about two percent. This isn’t something new.

Since the economic collapse a few years ago, the demand for rental housing has gone through the roof, particularly with millions of homes foreclosed because of the subprime mortgage meltdown. In addition, there have been greater efforts to tighten mortgage lending standards, though in the past year or two those standards have slightly diminished.

The lack of millennials acquiring property has also been another significant factor. However, real estate experts say that trend will likely reverse once rents continue to shoot upwards and the economy gradually improves. Millennials have been straddled with a weak labor market, enormous debt loads and a volatile housing market.

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