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How High are Rents Today?

We hear a lot about how tough it is for young people to afford sky-high rents today. However, many of the articles I read measure affordability of renting for a single person of modest income. When I was young, few young people could afford rent on their own. Most rented rooms in a house or went in with one or two others to cover rent. This left me wondering if rents really are tougher to afford than when I was young.

The last time I rented was decades ago, but I still remember what I paid. Using the CPP maximum pensionable earnings as a proxy for the rise of wages, the townhouse I rented years ago with my wife should cost $1180 per month today. But, a nearly identical place currently rents for $1760 per month.

This is just a single example, but it appears to be typical of rents across my city. Renting now takes about a 50% bigger bite out of wages than it did when I was young.

So, to the baby boomers who remember how hard it was to make rent decades ago and who might doubt that it’s harder now: yes, young people have it tougher today when it comes to rent.

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Comments

  1. Big Cajun Man (Alan W.)July 24, 2019 at 8:12 PM

    Hence why more of them have to continue living with their parents or family, just to be able to afford rental units. I have no idea how they do it in Toronto, where they can reno-vict you at the drop of a hat.

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    Replies
    1. Michael JamesJuly 25, 2019 at 12:11 AM

      @Big Cajun Man: Young people definitely have to find at least one other person to share the rent.

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