Episode #775 Rent prices have steadily risen for as long as we can remember. But, few of us would have ever expected the unimaginable rent hikes of 2020-2022. With major metros seeing double-digit year-over-year rent percentage bumps, residents were forced to throw a larger chunk of their income toward housing. Now, with higher rent prices than ever before, America has become “rent-burdened,” and a dangerous threshold has been crossed. What’s causing this rise in rents? Are investors to blame? And what’s a solution that could benefit builders, buyers, and renters? We’ve got Lu Chen and Thomas LaSalvia from Moody’s Commercial Real Estate division to give us their findings. Lu and Thomas’s team have been tracking rent prices carefully, logging which cities have seen the most significant price increases, which are becoming increasingly unaffordable, and what can be done about the problem. With a lack of housing supply and inflation eating away Americans’ income, what can everyday investors like us do? Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem that could help curb unaffordability while presenting a profit for investors. Lu and Thomas go over exactly what would have to happen to return to a normalized, affordable housing market and what’s hurting our efforts to get there. Plus, with rents becoming unaffordable for many young Americans, our Dave duo asks, “Is real estate still safe to invest in?” All that and more in this edition of BiggerNews! ~~~~ Join BiggerPockets for FREE 👇 https://www.biggerpockets.com/signup?utm_source=owned_media ~~~~ Expand Your Investing Knowledge With the BiggerPockets Books: https://store.biggerpockets.com/?utm_source=owned_media ~~~~ Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area: http://biggerpockets.com/agentmatch ~~~~ Find Investor-Friendly Lenders: http://biggerpockets.com/lendermatch ~~~~ Hear Dave on the “On the Market” Podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcasts/on-the-market?utm_source=owned_media ~~~~ Subscribe to the “On The Market” YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxDXuLvtjJ9Est8PrG3i2VA ~~~~ Grab the Moody’s Rent Report: https://cre.moodysanalytics.com/insights/ ~~~~ Connect with Lu and Thomas: Lu: lu.chen@moodys.com Thomas: thomas.lasalvia@moodys.com ~~~~ Connect with Dave and David on BiggerPockets: Dave: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/davem27?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none David: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/davidgreene24?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none ~~~~ Follow Dave, David, and BiggerPockets on Instagram: Dave: @thedatadeli or https://www.instagram.com/thedatadeli/ David: @davidgreene24 or https://www.instagram.com/davidgreene24/ BiggerPockets: @biggerpockets or https://www.instagram.com/biggerpockets/ Show notes at: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-775?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=none 00:00 Intro 03:03 Quick Tip 03:47 America Becomes "Rent-Burdened" 10:19 The 30% Rent Threshold 15:45 How Much Rent Has Jumped 18:37 "House Stock" Falls Short 30:20 Creative Solutions for More Housing 35:04 Are Landlords the Problem? 40:25 How Investors Can Help 44:21 Is Real Estate Still Safe? 46:44 The Solution to Record Rents 50:35 Grab the Rent Report!