Big Switch for Renters as Wages Ramp Up More than Rent Growth

Plus, the gap may disappear next year and help, but not remove, the affordability crisis.

By Barbara Ballinger | September 25, 2023 at 08:06 AM

Wages are finally outperforming rents and by a wide margin. The trend is expected to continue in the immediate future, according to Jay Parsons, Chief Economist of RealPage, who also authored this recent report.

Year-over-year wage growth in the country topped effective apartment rent growth for nine consecutive months; specifically, through August of this year they topped rents 5.3% to 0.3%. The income data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Wage Growth Tracker while the rent data covers effective asking rents for market-rate apartments, which RealPage tracks. Real average hourly earnings are up 1.2% in the last 12 months ended in June, according to the Labor Department.

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