A new report today from Harvard on the nation?s rental markets suggests the ongoing affordable housing crisis has evolved, with a growing number of well-to-do renters increasingly creating more strain for low-income, and increasingly middle-income, renters. | Shutterstock

New Harvard report finds market appealing to well-heeled renters, and middle-income renters feeling the squeeze It?s a perfect storm for raising rental costs: low vacancy rates not seen in decades, an influx of high-income renters, constraints on building new apartments and homes, and the disappearance of low-cost rental units. A new report today from Harvard?s Joint Center for Housing Studies on the nation?s rental markets suggests the ongoing affordable housing crisis has evolved, with a growing number of well-to-do renters increasingly putting a strain on low-income, and increasingly middle-income, renters. ?Despite the strong economy, the number and share of renters burdened by housing costs rose last year after a couple of years of modest improvement,? says Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, in a statement accompanying the report?s release. ?And while the poorest households are most likely to face this challenge, renters earning decent incomes have driven this recent deterioration in affordability.?
A marked shift in who rents
Perhaps the most significant change in the nation?s rental landscape is the shift in just who is renting today. The rental market...