Has renting peaked?

The rental housing market may have finally reached its peak.

According to the 2017 America’s Rental Housing report, released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, rent increases have slowed, there are fewer new renter households and the number of available rentals has increased.

However, more than 21 million renter households, or 47 percent, still spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Eleven million households pay more than 50 percent of their income for rental units. Rents continue to rise faster than inflation, the report found.

“This year’s report paints a complicated picture of the rental market. We’re finally seeing the record growth in renters slow down, but 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, let alone those with very low incomes,” said Christopher Herbert, the Joint Center’s managing director. “Addressing these challenges will require bold leadership and hard choices from both the public and private sector.”

In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh represents a low-rent area, most likely due to the affordability of homeownership in the city. Just 31 percent of the population rents, with 15 percent being families with children. In Philadelphia, just 18 percent of families with children rent.

Across the country, the report found that more older and higher-income adults are renting, nearly doubling in the past decade. Relatedly, there have been more additions of higher end rentals on the market.

The report predicts that renters will still make up approximately one-third of household growth moving forward.