Where are prices climbing? Where are they falling? Where can you find a deal?
Back in November 2023, The Boston Globe’s Catherine Carlock reported that new housing construction in the region “has fallen considerably this year,” amid a backlog of projects.
Factor in still-high mortgage interest rates, reluctant home sellers, inflation, climbing property prices, and a lack of inventory, and you have a recipe for low apartment vacancy rates, ramped up demand, and higher rental prices.
Well, dinner is served.
Half of all renters are cost-burdened, according to the “America’s Rental Housing 2024” report Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released on Jan. 25. The report defines “rent-burdened” as spending more than 30% of one’s income on rent and utilities.
Among these rent-burdened tenants, “12.1 million had severe burdens, paying over half of their income for housing” — a record high. The report warns that that United States is continuing to “lose low-rent units, and rents are significantly outpacing incomes.”