Cheap rents are becoming increasingly scarce in Pennsylvania while the number of luxury rentals continues to rapidly rise, write Mike D’Onofrio and Sami Sparber for AXIOS.
This is a growing affordability issue in a state where buying a home is impossible for many due to the high prices and rising mortgage rates.
Pennsylvania has recorded a drop of around 21 percent in rental prices under $1,000 over the last decade, according to an analysis from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. That amounts to a loss of about 225,000 affordable rental units.
Meanwhile a the same time, a boom in upscale apartment development has nearly doubled the number of units that rent for at least $2,000 a month or more.
In June, the average monthly rent in Pennsylvania was approximately $1,800, according to Rent Cafe. In Philadelphia, the number is even higher coming in at around $2,000 a month. This has led to nearly one in three households in Philadelphia being cost burdened, meaning that their rent and utilities cost more than the recommended 30 percent of their income.
Read more about rents in Pennsylvania in AXIOS.
