Median Atlanta rent
1980 — $744
1990 — $971
2000 — $1,043
2010 — $994
2014 — $996
Source: Census Bureau, Apartment List
Median Atlanta renter’s income
1980 — $33,945
1990 — $44,196
2000 — $47,435
2010 — $34,169
2014 — $36,835
Source: Census Bureau, Apartment List
It’s harder than it used to be for a working person to make the monthly rent payment, a new report suggests.
Over the past several decades, rents in Atlanta – as well as nationally — have risen a lot faster than incomes, according to a report to be issued today by Apartment List, a San Francisco-based online rental marketplace.
Since 1980, the median rent in metro Atlanta has climbed 34 percent while the median income for renters is up just 9 percent, said Andrew Woo, director of data science at Apartment List.
But the trend line has been ragged: during some periods renters did fairly well.
During the 1970s, despite overall inflation, incomes rose faster than rents. And during the 1990s, “rents barely budged,” while incomes were up about 10 percent, Woo said. “The decade from 2000 to 2010, however, was the worst for renters.”
The recession of 2001 was followed by a slow recovery. Then, just as the economy was shifting into higher gear, the economy went over a cliff into a deep recession. Many Americans lost all their income; many who kept jobs went years without a raise.
And while the housing crash sent home prices into free fall – thus tossing many homes to the rental market — it also turned many owners into renters.
The result was a flattening of rents for several years, as the economy slowly got back on its feet and incomes sluggishly began to rise. But the balance is still tilted, according to Woo’s crunching of the data.
Income growth hasn’t made up the difference with previous rent hikes. Moreover, rents have been rising lately.
Rents are up 2.9 percent in the past year, according to Zillow, a Seattle-based real estate listing company.
The next step could be a boost in the number of potential homebuyers. Several studies have shown the number of people who would financially benefit from owning a home is on the rise. The housing market has been slowly warming up for several years and mortgage rates – a key fuel – have been low.
A flow of renters into home buying seems more likely in the pre-Brexit climate. Last week’s vote by the United Kingdom to exit the European Union could lead to downward pressure on mortgage rates – not least because the Federal Reserve is now unlikely to raise the short-term rates.
Renters in metro Atlanta, though, face a potential shortage of “starter” homes to buy. Most single-family homes being built these days are aimed at “move-up” buyers, say builders.
Prices reflect that trend, according to Zillow.
The values of entry-level homes rose twice as fast over the past year as the prices of “top-tier” homes, Zillow reported.
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