Less Than Half of Renters Can Afford Monthly House Payments

Only 45 percent of the renters in the nation’s major metro areas can afford the monthly payments on a median-priced home in their market areas, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report, released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. In several of the more expensive metro areas in the Pacific Coast, Florida and the Northeast markets,

 

But finding rental housing is also a major challenge. The study found the rental vacancy rate hit a 30-year low in 2016, despite the increased volume in multifamily housing. And the most recent data (from 2015) determined that nearly 19 million households paid more than half of their incomes for housing.

 

“While the recovery in home prices reflects a welcome pickup in demand, it is also being driven by very tight supply,” says Chris Herbert, the Center’s managing director. “Any excess housing that may have been built during the boom years has been absorbed, and a stronger supply response is going to be needed to keep pace with demand—particularly for moderately priced homes.”

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