According to the Domestic Policy Council (DPC), "Over 44 million households, or roughly 35 percent of the U.S. population, live in rental housing."
Inputs that matter: As home prices escalate beyond what many can afford, the number of renters in the U.S. will increase.
- DPC reported that almost one-quarter of renters spend 50% of their income on rent.
- The depleted housing supply is creating more competition for fewer available units.
The opportunity: U.S. News reports that The "Blueprint for a Renter's Bill of Rights" is not law but serves to open up opportunities for action at all levels of government with five rights:
- Everyone should have access to housing that is safe and affordable.
- Lease agreements must be fair and easy to understand.
- The Education of renters' rights is the responsibility of state and local governments.
- Renters should have the right to organize a tenant association.
- Renters need access to resources designed to avoid eviction.
Zoom in: The expectation is that policymakers will take action based on the white paper.
- The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports, "Homelessness rose by a modest 0.3 percent from 2020 to 2022, a period marked by both pandemic-related economic disruptions and robust investments of federal resources into human services."
- During this time, the burden was placed on private businesses to house people and utility companies to maintain services regardless of payment.
- The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reports that only 37 affordable homes are available for every 100 extremely low-income renters.
Between the lines: Based on Zillow data, home prices in the U.S. are up 3.6% from last year.
- According to Zillow, to qualify for a mortgage on the average home price of $350,000, a person must make a minimum of $100,000 per year.
- The Pew Research Center explains, "Renters skew to the lower ends of income and wealth distributions, according to data from the Federal Reserve's 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances."
- CNBC reports, "In 2019, homeowners in the U.S. had a median net worth of $255,000, while renters had a net worth of just $6,300."
Follow the money: Fannie Mae's latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) found that 81 percent of respondents believe it's a bad time to buy a home.
- Bankrate describes, "Despite the slight uptick, inflation is now substantially lower than its high point of 9.1 percent in the summer of 2022."
- However, Business Insider reports, "Home prices have risen at 2.4 times the pace of inflation since the 1960s."
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Read More
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/White-House-Blueprint-for-a-Renters-Bill-of-Rights.pdf
- https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/what-is-the-white-houses-renters-bill-of-rights
- https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness/
- https://www.usich.gov/guidance-reports-data/data-trends
- https://www.zillow.com/home-values/102001/united-states/
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/02/as-national-eviction-ban-expires-a-look-at-who-rents-and-who-owns-in-the-u-s/
- https://www.cnbc.com/select/average-net-worth-homeowners-renters/
- https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/inflation-housing-market/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/home-prices-housing-market-inflation-us-economy-mortgage-rate-fed-2024-3