According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, from 2005 to 2015, the number of renter households earning more than $150,000 annually rose from 551,000 to 1,750,000, a 217 percent increase.
Curbed reports that the jump incentivizes landlords and developers to develop high-end rental properties in spite of more affordable units.
For those at the top of the income bracket, the increasing cost of rent may be just the price of living in a desirable downtown neighborhood. But as more and more of the wealthiest Americans turn to renting instead of owning, due in large part to the skyrocketing price of owning urban property, their decisions are collectively altering the rental market, and potentially raising rent, for the rest of us.
