The demand for rental properties as affordability declines

The crisis in the housing market has pushed many Americans out of home ownership and forced them to move into rental properties, according to a report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. This dynamic, coupled with increasing unemployment, has left many people struggling to find housing that they can afford.

Individuals living affordably should spend no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent and utility costs.The study found that 10.1 million renters - more than one in four - spend over half their income on housing.

"It’s shocking, there’s no doubt about that," Chris Herbert, a research director at Harvard, told the Boston Herald. "Renters are scrimping every way they can to get by."

The shortage of affordable places to live has put additional strain on the national economy, requiring more subsidized and federally funded projects and benefits. The government appropriates $40 billion a year to housing and community development assistance, and forgoes $10 billion in tax revenues, which has proven to be insufficient. 

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