Home renting rates for households ages 30 to 64 are at their highest in the last 30 years, according to a recent report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Reasons for the surge may include the wave of foreclosures in 2008 that highlighted the risks of homeownership, such as “the potential loss of wealth from falling home values, the high costs of relocating, and the financial and personal havoc caused by foreclosure.”
The report also notes declining renter incomes, finding that the share of renters paying more than 30% of their income for housing grew to 50% in 2010, up from 38% in 2000. The authors claim that as Americans turn to the rental market and rents rise faster than income, more people pay more than they can afford for rent, and as a result, must spend less on other vital needs.
