Rising Rents at “Crisis” Level for Lower Income People

When it comes to housing, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

CNBC reports that the construction of luxury apartments, during a time when there’s an acute lack of affordable housing, is causing a crisis for low and middle-income people.

In fact, nearly half of renter households pay in excess of 30 percent of their income for housing.

Multifamily construction is now at a 40-year high but some claim that developers are building the wrong kind of buildings. Data from RealPage, an apartment management software and data company, indicates that upscale buildings accounted for between 75 and 80 percent of the new supply in the current cycle.

The rush for big-ticket tenants leaves low and middle-income households in a lurch. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that, “while the market has responded to rental housing needs for higher-income households, there are alarming trends that suggest a growing inability to supply housing that is affordable for middle- and working-class renters.”

From crisis may come opportunity; in our opinion, rental homes in affordable and safe neighborhoods may bring affordable housing for working class families.

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Consider investing in a professionally managed portfolio of single-family homes? Please contact Harold Willig at harold.willig@springviewinvestments.com or 917-209-4452.