While pandemic-era low mortgage rates have  paralyzed the housing market , a parallel renter “lock-in” effect is gripping the nation’s most expensive metros , as tenants in  New York City  and  Los Angeles  find it financially impossible to walk away from below-market leases. Long-term renters —defined as households that remain in the same rental unit for at least five years—make up roughly 36% of all tenant households in the US, according to a  new report from Realtor.com®  analyzing the  2024