Report on 'America's Rental Housing' from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

Table of Contents
Introduction & Summary
Rental Market Conditions
Renter Demographics
Rental Housing Stock
Affordability
Policy Challenges
Appendix Tables

From the introduction and summary.

The troubled homeowner market, along with demographic shifts, has highlighted the vital role that the rental sector plays in providing affordable homes on flexible terms. But while rental housing is the home of choice for a diverse cross-section of Americans, it is also the home of necessity for millions of low-income households.

And the share of US households unable to find affordable rentals has been on the rise for a half-century, with an especially large jump in the last decade as renter income fell even further behind housing and utility cost increases. Even as the need for affordable housing grows—both assisted by the government and supplied in the private market—long-run pressures continue to threaten this essential resource.

Rental markets are now tightening, with vacancy rates falling and rents climbing. With little new supply of multifamily units in the pipeline, rents could rise sharply as demand increases. Regardless, affordability is likely to deteriorate further over the next few years as persistently high unemployment limits renter income gains. Meanwhile, policymakers must find ways to do more with less as they confront the stark realities of federal budget cuts. In this difficult environment, all levels of government will be challenged to support efforts to meet the nation’s fundamental need for affordable, good-quality rental housing.