Affordable Rental Housing Supply Declining

Cambridge, MA, May 2, 2011 -- Nearly one in four renters is spending more than half their income on rent and utilities, according to a new report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

This number, 10.1 million households, is at a record, according to the report.

Titled "America's Rental Housing: Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities," the report also found that roughly another quarter of renters, or 26.2 percent, spends between 30 percent and 50 percent of their income on rent and utilities.

It's mostly a matter of supply and demand. The demand for affordable rental housing is increasing, but the supply decreasing.

“In the last decade, rental housing affordability problems went through the roof,” Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and an author of the study, said in a press release.

“And these affordability problems are marching up the income scale. In real terms, it means more people have less money to spend on household necessities such as food, health care, and savings.”