more expensive for many families.) While
historically low interest rates, combined with
sharply reduced home values following the
crash of the housing market, have helped
make homeownership more affordable,23
these conditions are unlikely to persist. In
fact, home values are gradually rising in
many communities, in part because of a
reduction in the number of foreclosed and
distressed homes available for sale. In addition, interest rates are likely to head upward
as the full effects of the Federal Reserve’s
decision to terminate its “quantitative
easing” policy are felt in the bond markets.
C ha rt C
Generating a Surge in Renter Household Growth
Average Annual Growth in Renter Households (Millions)
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
The Growing Number
of Renter Households
The flip side of a declining homeownership
rate is the tremendous rise in demand for
rental housing that has occurred in recent
years. According to the Current Population
Survey sponsored by the Census Bureau
and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more
than one million new households were
added annually to the rental ranks between
2005 and 2013, a pace that was more than
twice the 400,000 annual average in any
decade since the 1960s. Other government
surveys show strong growth in the number
of renter households in recent years (See
Chart C).24 Many of these new renters are
from groups that have traditionally rented
– young adults, single persons, and lowincome families; but older households,
many of whom were former homeowners,
have also contributed significantly to the
growth in the renter population.25
Today, more than 43 million households rent
their homes. These households represent
more than 104 million individuals, accounting for approximately 33 percent of the
U.S. population. Nearly 17 million of these
households rent single-family residences
or mobile homes, while close to 8 million
The Silent Housing Crisis: A Snapshot of Current and Future Conditions
Decennial Census
2010s
HVS
CPS
Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, America’s Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs
(2013). JCHS tabulations of US Census Bureau, Decennial
Censuses, Current Population Surveys (CPS), and Housing
Vacancy Surveys (HVS)
households rent homes in properties with
two to four units. The largest group of
renters, those living in buildings with five or
more units, accounts for nearly 18 million
households.26
...the Great
Families choose to rent their homes for a
number of reasons – greater mobility, proximity to jobs and transportation, the inability
to come up with a down payment, and the
desire to forego responsibility for costly
maintenance and upkeep are all commonly
cited as reasons. But a major factor contributing to the decision to rent has traditionally
been its affordability. With annual incomes
($32,466) that are less than half that of the
typical homeowner household ($67,298), the
comparative affordability of rental housing
has been a critical reason why many renter
households do not buy a home.27
impacted the
Unfortunately, this affordability proposition
has deeply eroded over the past decade
and will only continue to deteriorate if the
status quo is preserved. One measure of the
increasing unaffordability of rental housing
Recession has
profoundly
household
incomes of those
between the ages
of 25 and 44, the
group most likely
to purchase a
home for the
first time.
11