Rent has never been less affordable — for tenants with high and low incomes alike — even while costs for new leases are finally cooling off.
Half of American renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs — a key benchmark for affordability — with the financial strain rising the fastest for middle-class tenants. That’s according to a new report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which found that the number of such renters, considered to be “cost-burdened,” hit a record 22.4 million in 2022 — up 2 million from just three years before. And of those households, 12.1 million had housing costs that ate up more than 50 percent of their income, an all-time high for those with “severe burdens.”
Practically no renters were spared from the pandemic-era surge in housing costs. Prices rose the fastest — a whopping 5.4 percentage points — for middle-class households making $45,000 to $74,999. And it ticked up a notable 2.6 percentage points for those earning $30,000 to $44,999. The country’s highest and lowest earners also saw their burdens increase.
“I expected to see it worsen,” Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, the report’s lead author, said of the affordability problem. “But the degree to which it worsened, I think, was astounding.”
“The economy is great. Why is nobody giving Biden CREDIT?!!!?11!1?!!!?”
Does the president control the economy or nah?
I have friends and family with tons of disposable income, even with kids, and the main factor is that they have a mortgage around or less than $1k. People in that category along with older folks seem to be propping up the economy. It’s tough for younger people now who don’t yet own a home since their cost of housing will only continue to go up.
What a stupid headline!
Rent is not the problem. The problem is the gap between wages and the cost of living which make rent unaffordable.
The problem are wages. Wages wages wages
and taxes for the highest tax brackets
There are only 3 states where you can work 40hr @ $15.00 per hour pay for a 1 bedroom apartment.
Rent has always been unaffordable for me, that’s the problem. I solved it by moving 2 hours away but still near a city and bought an older home, I’m set for life. My mortgage payments are less than renting a room.
Keep voting for democrat inflationary fiscal and monetary policies.
9 comments
[***The number of ‘cost-burdened’ renters hit a record 22.4 million in 2022 — up 2 million households from just three years before, according to a new study***](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/25/rent-housing-costs/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
Rent has never been less affordable — for tenants with high and low incomes alike — even while costs for new leases are finally cooling off.
Half of American renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs — a key benchmark for affordability — with the financial strain rising the fastest for middle-class tenants. That’s according to a new report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which found that the number of such renters, considered to be “cost-burdened,” hit a record 22.4 million in 2022 — up 2 million from just three years before. And of those households, 12.1 million had housing costs that ate up more than 50 percent of their income, an all-time high for those with “severe burdens.”
Practically no renters were spared from the pandemic-era surge in housing costs. Prices rose the fastest — a whopping 5.4 percentage points — for middle-class households making $45,000 to $74,999. And it ticked up a notable 2.6 percentage points for those earning $30,000 to $44,999. The country’s highest and lowest earners also saw their burdens increase.
“I expected to see it worsen,” Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, the report’s lead author, said of the affordability problem. “But the degree to which it worsened, I think, was astounding.”
**Read more:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/25/rent-housing-costs/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/25/rent-housing-costs/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
Many voted for this inflation.
Meanwhile congress is worried about being woke
“The economy is great. Why is nobody giving Biden CREDIT?!!!?11!1?!!!?”
Does the president control the economy or nah?
I have friends and family with tons of disposable income, even with kids, and the main factor is that they have a mortgage around or less than $1k. People in that category along with older folks seem to be propping up the economy. It’s tough for younger people now who don’t yet own a home since their cost of housing will only continue to go up.
What a stupid headline!
Rent is not the problem. The problem is the gap between wages and the cost of living which make rent unaffordable.
The problem are wages. Wages wages wages
and taxes for the highest tax brackets
There are only 3 states where you can work 40hr @ $15.00 per hour pay for a 1 bedroom apartment.
Rent has always been unaffordable for me, that’s the problem. I solved it by moving 2 hours away but still near a city and bought an older home, I’m set for life. My mortgage payments are less than renting a room.
Keep voting for democrat inflationary fiscal and monetary policies.
It’s bound to get better. Sooner or later.