If you live in America, are you seeing rent prices go up or down in your area this year? Despite recent claims that rent price growth is cooling down, new surveys just published by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and Freddie Mac found that the majority of U.S. households, — or about two-thirds of the entire population, — reported that they had experienced at least one rent hike in 2023. Meanwhile, one in 10 said that they saw a whopping $400 price increase in the first quarter,
With the cost of housing exploding across the country, more and more people are missing rent payments and facing evictions. Today, eviction fillings are actually 50% higher than in 2019, when there were no pandemic moratoriums in place and the market was still considered “normal”. Official estimates reveal that more than 8 million renters may lose their homes this month, and that may be just the beginning of a trend that will devastate countless American families.
In 2019, the average price for a two-bedroom apartment in the U.S. was just $1,320. Today, families are paying on average $700 more in rent per month for the same two-bedroom unit. That’s a staggering 53% increase in just four years. Just in the past twelve months, rents rose by 26%, and a shortage of affordable homes is squeezing many American families, and putting them an edge closer to facing eviction this year.
A new survey published by the research center just a few weeks back found that 60% of U.S. households experienced at least one rent increase since January, including 17% who experienced two or more rent hikes. The increases ranged between $75 to $100 per week, meaning that for some families monthly rents have become $400 more expensive so far this year, with a ratio of 1 in 10, or about 4.4 million renters reporting that’s their case.
In contrast, a separate survey conducted by Freddie Mac revealed that just 38% of renters saw their wages increase, and 33% say their raise won’t cover their increased rent. The research sought to gauge the impact of rising prices on consumers’ housing choices, and it was conducted this year from June 6 to 10 among a representative sample of 2,000 American consumers, aged 18 and older. Mirroring recent turmoil in the housing and rent markets, Alignable’s July Rent Report, released last week, exposed that rent delinquency rates have just experienced the highest surge in five months, jumping six percentage points from March, at 13.17%, or 28% than a year ago levels, when moratoriums were still in place in many areas.
Put another way, 8,070,524 people ages 18 or older in the U.S. aren’t caught up on rent payments and have already received an eviction notice, meaning that they could lose their homes at any minute now. This month, a record number of households can be displaced from their communities because they can no longer keep up with abusive rent hikes. That will have a far-reaching impact on our society as the disparity between the haves and have-nots gets even wider in America. But without a doubt, the biggest consequence of this crisis will be the devastating effect it will have on the finances, mental and physical health, and every other aspect of the lives of millions of Americans who can no longer afford their homes. Behind each one of these numbers and stats, there is a person, a family, a history. And if action isn’t taken to prevent mass evictions, all of these lives may be shattered all around us.