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Residential
New York

NYC rental market is getting worse for poorest families: report

Gap between rent and wage growth greatest for low earners

Bronx Apartment buildings (Credit: David Wilson via Flickr)
Bronx Apartment buildings (Credit: David Wilson via Flickr)

New York’s rising housing costs are hitting the poorest families the hardest, according to a new StreetEasy study.

Median rents increased 3.9 percent since 2010 but median wages only rose 1.8 percent, the study notes. But for the city’s poorest 20 percent, median rents rose 4.9 percent while median wages fell 1.1 percent, meaning they are far less likely to be able to afford housing, DNAinfo reported.

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“As New Yorkers — particularly the lowest earners – are forced to dedicate more of their monthly income toward rent, it becomes extremely difficult to save for necessities like healthcare and education, or a down payment on a home,” StreetEasy economist Grant Long said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the city’s top earners benefited from a recent slowdown in the luxury rental market (rents rose 3 percent since 2010) while their wages also rose the most.

“For a household to be able to afford an apartment at this level without paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, they would need to earn $151,000 a year — 58 percent more than the city’s median income for a family of four,” StreetEasy noted. [DNAinfo] — Konrad Putzier

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Affordable Housing