The Washington Post Looks at National Trends in Rental Costs

An article in The Washington Post uses data from Zillow to explain that rent increases are slowing nationally, although the trend is being driven primarily by falling prices for high-end rentals and not for housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income people. In many metro areas, such as Los Angeles and Miami, rents have risen for both low-income and higher-income renters. However, in other major cities, including San Francisco and Washington, DC, rents have fallen for the highest earners while increasing for the poorest renters. City officials have responded to these rent increases with a range of policy measures, such as reforming zoning codes, creating new tools for financing affordable housing and mandating the inclusion of affordable units in new developments. However, advocates argue that the federal government needs to take more direct action to increase affordable housing construction and provide greater rental assistance to low-income families.