Renters Feeling the Impacts of Inflation

Washington, DC, December 9, 2021-Inflation is impacting America’s renters, reports the Wall Street Journal.

“Over the past year, the median cost of rent has risen by nearly 20% in a handful of areas including Phoenix, Tampa, Fla., and Boise, Idaho, according to analysis conducted by the Urban Institute. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Sarasota, Fla., for example, was recently at $2,004 a month-a 40% increase compared with the previous year, according to rental listing site Zumper.

“Many factors are driving the rent surge including a short supply of housing inventory. There is a deluge of renters who huddled with family members early on in the pandemic but are now driving demand for dwellings. Landlords, meanwhile, are looking to recoup some losses from the pandemic, when some gave discounted rents to new tenants and existing ones missed payments. Those priced out of the hot housing market are pushing into rentals.

“For Americans, rising rent comes on the heels of several other issues that are pressuring wallets. During the current period of inflation-when higher prices for goods and services begins to sap the purchasing power of the dollar-consumer budgets are besieged by the prospect of higher heating bills, home-insurance premiums and an auto market in which the cost of a used car can outstrip that of a brand-new one.

“Some renters are coping by putting less into savings or making more-drastic life changes such as moving to a more-stable rental market.”