Elevated Rent Expectations Continue to Pressure Low‑Income Households
![illustration of person sitting on their suitcases outside of a house with a lock on the front door with the question: who feels most vulnerable.](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/LSE_2022_June_inequality_haughwout_920.jpg?w=1024)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s 2023 SCE Housing Survey, released in April, reported some novel data about expectations for home prices, interest rates, and mortgage refinancing. While the data showed a sharp drop in home price expectations, some of the most notable findings concern renters. In this post, we take a deeper dive into how renters’ expectations and financial situations have evolved over the past year. We find that both owners and renters expect rents to rise rapidly over the next year, albeit at a slower pace than last year. Furthermore, we also show that eviction expectations rose sharply over the past twelve months, and that this increase was most pronounced for those in the lowest quartile of the income distribution.
Is Your Apartment Breaking because Your Landlord Is Broke?
![Decorative photo: Water dripping from ceiling into plastic bucket on floor in living room, space for text. Leaking roof](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/LSE_2023_apartment_seltzer_460.jpg?w=920)
Thirty-one percent of housing units in the United States are rental units, and rental housing is unique because unlike in the case of homeownership, renters rely on the property owner for maintenance spending. From the property owner’s perspective, building maintenance is an important investment necessary to keep the asset in good condition. However, like all investments, it is only possible to maintain a building with sufficient financial resources. In a recent staff report, I examine the relationship between a building’s financing constraints and its maintenance. I find that financially constrained buildings, colloquially “broke,” tend to be less well maintained.