Affordability Gap Between Rents and Home Prices Shrinking in Much of US
• Rents have increased but remain more affordable than owning a home in most US counties • Both renting and owning consume over 1/3 of wages in most of the country • The gap between rents and home prices has narrowed recently • Among large counties, Honolulu has the biggest gap between rents (67% of wages) and owning (134% of wages) • The most affordable rental markets are mainly in the Midwest and South like Detroit, Birmingham, AL, and Cleveland