Dive Brief:

• Rents are so high that they prevent tenants from saving enough money for down payments, according to the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.

• And the upward spiral in the price of renting an apartment isn’t likely to subside for at least two years, the real estate experts who participated in the survey predicted.

• The survey also forecast that home prices will rise 4.4% in 2015, and will exceed their pre-recession peak by May 2017.

Dive Insight:

A move by federal housing authorities to reduce the required down payments for first-time homebuyers could make it easier for renters to become homeowners. Still, as home prices rise and interest rates start to creep upward, young adults who otherwise would buy homes could continue to struggle to afford their first real estate purchases.