The vast majority of programming on HGTV focuses on acquiring and/or rehabbing homes. It is hard to go more than a few episodes of these shows without someone talking about the pride of homeownership or achieving their dreams. This is all very American.

But, if the housing market still isn’t great, why aren’t there more shows about rentals? The one consistent show that includes rentals, Income Property, only views the rental from the homeowner’s perspective and how much money they can extract from the rental.

A theory: we’ll know when there are more Americans who really want to rent, particularly in the key 25-49 demographic, when HGTV features more prime-time shows about renting and rental properties.