Increased demand for rental properties from wealthy, middle-class renters is pushing the cost of rent to an uncomfortable level for many Americans. In a time when housing prices are also rising, this is creating a tense situation for lower-income renters: to the left is a rental affordability crisis, to the right is an affordable housing shortage. More than 10.3 million Americans making at least $75,000 are renting, and roughly 370,000 middle-class families spent more than 30% of their income on housing, which experts consider a considerable strain on families budgets. The average renter used to be a single person with a high school education who made less than $30,000 a year, according to a recent Harvard study. Now, the demographic skews more towards college-educated, married couples.
Many Americans, already struggling to find a home they can afford to buy, are increasingly at pains to find a place they can afford to rent. Tightening that squeeze: An influx of middle-class renters that is pushing up prices in much of the country.
"Ultimately, we're in a rental affordability crisis," said Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a research associate with the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
A decade ago, more than two-thirds of people who rented an apartment or a single-family home in the U.S. earned less than $30,000 a year, a recent Harvard study shows. But beginning in 2010, with the economy still suffering the effects of the subprime mortgage crash, the share of middle-class renters surged.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Sales + Marketing Trends
Brand Loyalty and Why Builders Should Think Like a Hospitality Brand
Whether its offering that personal touch or incorporating experiences into amenity use, home builders have something to learn from the hospitality industry
Innovation
Florida Multifamily Housing Complex Built Using Lego Block–Like System
This patented mineral composite, fiber-reinforced building system stacks Lego-like blocks to create a building solution its creator says is both sustainable and resilient
Affordability
Possible Boost for Affordable Housing in New York City
The developer of New York's Freedom Plaza has added a major affordable housing piece to the project, hoping that will help push through other components of the development