In the long run,
the facts are on the side of the optimists.
To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., the arc of history bends toward progress. But progress doesn't just happen. People work hard to discover ways forward.
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Median rents in the US have been falling for four years now, and have returned to their longterm trend line from before the pandemic sent them through the … roof. This is according to surveys of asking rents by Apartment List. After inflation, the drops would be even steeper.
The cost of housing has been particularly difficult for young adults, becoming at least one factor in the rise of adult children staying with their parents.
That is in spite of their overall prosperity. Gen Z has higher incomes and more net worth than any previous generation at the same age. But that wealth has not nearly kept pace with the rise in housing prices or rents. Buying a house remains out of reach. Prices soared in the pandemic, and have never stopped rising. And interest rates are much higher too. Buying a home has become a much harder first step to take.
Rents are still high too. But apartment building has been booming. More units were built across the country in 2024 than in any year since 1986. As supply grows, rent drops. The biggest drops in rents have been in cities with the biggest building booms, such as Austin, Denver, Nashville, and Phoenix.
The political rallying cry “the rent is too damn high” caught hold well over a decade ago, and the cities that responded by building more apartments have made a difference.
Sources: Noah Smith; Apartment List