Rent prices are rising, but so are many renters’ incomes.
Bloomberg reports that, based on the 5.7 million rental leases in the RealPage database, the national median rent-to-income ratio has hovered around 23 percent since 2010, and that the median income for renters has risen from $45,000 to $61,000 during that time.
The findings from RealPage, a software that landlords use to manage their properties, might be taking into account more affluent renters. The median income for a renter of a market-rate apartment unit is $32,000, according to recent Census data.
Still, that income gap between $32,000 and $61,000 helps explain why rent-to-income ratios remain flat while others warn of a growing affordability crisis. Greg Willett, the chief economist at RealPage, said he doesn’t question that rising rents are straining plenty of households, adding that close to 1 in 3 U.S. households earns less than $30,000 a year.
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