An Update on the State of the Rental Industry

What’s the latest word on the rental industry in the U.S.? Today I’ll share what research has to say.

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Havard studies find that dwindling new home construction nationwide resulted in lower inventory for would-be buyers and accordingly, real estate developers have focused on building more upscale rental apartments in recent years. There are many people in the middle class who have opted not to purchase and are instead renting standard apartments or higher-end properties.

According to Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, a research associate with Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, we’re in a rental affordability crisis. Just 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. Recently, however, Havard’s research shows that in 2010, with the economy still suffering the effects of subprime mortgage crash, the share of middle-class renters had surged.

Many Americans are struggling to find a home that they can afford to buy and are increasingly at pains to find a place they can afford to rent.

As of 2018, 62% of renters (27.1 million people) earned middle-class incomes of between $30,000 and $75,000 per year. According to the study, at least 10.3 million families with annual incomes of at least $75,000 are renting the roof over their heads, which is a jump over the previous years.

Many, many Americans are actually struggling to find a home that they can afford to buy and are increasingly at pains to find a place they can afford to rent because the influx of middle-class renters is pushing up prices in much of the country.
If you have any questions about renting, buying, selling moving, feel free to reach out to us at LAER Realty Partners. We’d love to help you.