Why Your Rent Increases Are About to Get Steeper

Landlords will almost always remember to increase your rent each year. Maybe it’s just a few percent, maybe it’s a few hundreds of dollars. Or you may be one of the lucky few not to see your rent jump. Whatever it is, enjoy it while it lasts — it’s only getting worse.

Rent increases are expected to get steeper with the rental vacancy rate hitting a 30-year low of 6.8% this quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau announced on Tuesday. That means about 93.2% of America’s rental housing units are rented out — a level of demand the nation hasn’t seen since 1985. As a result, economists predict rent increases are “set to accelerate” to about 5% this year and the next, marking one of the highest periods of rent growth on record, according to Bloomberg News.

The upside, however hard to see, is that it might be time to consider actually purchasing an apartment or house. That could also help lift up a flagging homeownership rate, a trend tied to all sorts of economic woes.