by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, June 6 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the U.S. economy, and the rental market is no exception. Yet rental prices are bouncing back recently as the pandemic wanes.
Last year, when city dwellers fled from larger urban areas like New York and Los Angeles to smaller, less densely populated cities, suburbs and rural areas to avoid the higher health risks, average rental prices in those big cities plunged downward.
In the more congested East Coast states, like Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia, rental rates slumped across the board, while in New York they plunged 20 percent down to 2,150 U.S. dollars on average for a one-bedroom, and on the West Coast, in San Francisco they dropped by 24.3 percent and Los Angeles by 16 percent.
However, a report available on Apartmentlist.com early this month indicated that the U.S. national index of rental prices in urban areas was bouncing back and that "pandemic pricing is officially over" as the pandemic winded down and renters filtered back to the cities seeking places to live.
The index showed a 2.3 percent month-over-month gain in rental prices nationwide in May, a record 30-day increase since its inception in 2017.
The average rent in Los Angeles for a one-bedroom apartment is now hovering at 1,942 dollars, though more expensive neighborhoods of the second largest city in the country still clock in much higher, like West Adams in Silicon Beach for 4,041 dollars, Mid-City West for 3,209 dollars and the Westside at 3,200 dollars.
Though more affordable rates are still available in the city's outlying areas like Northridge for 2,135 dollars, Sherman Oaks, 2,128 dollars and Rampart Village, 1,818 dollars, they are still out of reach for many residents who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 or are struggling with a low wage job.
The U.S. Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development set guidelines that renters should spend no more than 30 percent on average of their annual income on rent to allow them sufficient money to pay other non-discretionary costs, such as food, utilities, insurance, automotive, clothing and medical.
But, to afford an average rental in Los Angeles, the minimum household annual income would need to be 70,000 dollars or more, while Angelinos' median income is only 28,000 dollars per year.
Los Angeles was suffering a severe affordable housing shortage for low income families living below the poverty line, a report of californianewstimes.com said last week, adding Black and Hispanic families were at the highest risk of losing their homes and were at least twice as likely to suffer late payments as White renters.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition issued a report, estimating that, nationwide, workers would need to earn 23.96 dollars per hour to afford a two-bedroom without being financially overburdened, while the average minimum wage nationwide is 7.25 dollars, and 14.00 dollars in California.
But in places like San Bernardino County in California, even slightly higher paid workers who earn 22.55 dollars per hour would have to work 61 hours a week to afford to buy a one-bedroom unit at the current Department of Housing and Urban Development rates. In the neighboring Riverside County, they'd have to work 56 hours for the same purchase.
Finding affordable homes in California may be difficult now, but the situation is likely to worsen as California Governor Gavin Newsom's landmark rent eviction moratorium would expire on June 30.
"California is leading the way by enacting the strongest eviction protections in the nation, which will provide relief for millions of Californians dealing with financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19," said Newsom.
As the country gradually moves on from the pandemic, experts anticipated that rental rates would continue to rise and the homeless crisis will increase as rental inventories grow scarcer. Enditem
