A new Harvard study finds more than half of renters in Connecticut are either severely or moderately burdened by housing costs. That puts the state above the national average.
In Connecticut, 23.2 percent of renters are deemed moderately burdened, which represents about 105,000 households. The national average is 22.8 percent. An additional 28.5 percent of renters, 130,000 households, are severely burdened versus a national average of 26.4 percent.
The study by the Joint Center of Housing Studies at Harvard University said moderately-burdened households pay more than 30 percent and up to 50 percent of their income to rent while severely impacted pay more than 50 percent of household income for housing. Households with zero or negative income are assumed to be severely burdened, while households paying no cash rent are assumed to be unburdened.
The Hartford market, in particular, is cited as a tough area for new multifamily housing. It said below-average job growth has been a factor in limiting multifamily construction activity.
Nationwide, the Harvard report said, the decade-long surge in rental demand is unprecedented. In mid-2015, 43 million families and individuals lived in rental housing, up nearly 9 million from 2005—the largest gain in any 10-year period on record. In addition, the share of all U.S. households that rent rose from 31 percent to 37 percent, its highest level since the mid-1960s.
The report also said demographic trends have made their own contribution to the growing popularity of renting. The aging of the Millennial generation (born 1985–2004) has lifted the number of adults in their 20s, the stage of life when renting is most common. In addition, Millennials are slower to marry and have children than previous generations, thus delaying the life events that typically precede first-time homeownership.
