— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on December 10, Tuesday.
Welcome to the CNBC Business Daily.
As the US housing market continues to show strong signs of recovery. CNBC's Diana Olick looks at the rental affordability bubble that's building in America:
When millions of Americans lost their home to foreclosure, they had no choice but to rent. And when the mortgage crisis curtailed credit for millions more potential home buyers, the rush to rent rose even more - and so did the rents.
[Soundbyte on tape by Shaun Donovan Secretary, HUD] We are in the midst of the worst rental affordability crisis that this country has ever known.
A new study released today in Washington by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing finds that half of all US renters now pay more than 30% of their incomes on rent. That's up from 18% a decade ago. For those in the lowest income brackets, the jump is even worse.
[Soundbyte on tape by Shaun Donovan Secretary, HUD] Over four years, a 43% increase in the number of Americans with what we call "worst case housing needs". Let's be clear about what that means - they're paying more than half of every dollar they earn for housing.
Apartment rent growth accelerated over this past summer, now up 3% from a year ago according to REIS, as vacancies continue to decline.
The numbers are not lost on Annie Eccles - she's been renting for over two years and the rent on her Bethesda, Maryland apartment has increased by the maximum allowable every year.
[Soundbyte on tape by Annie Eccles, Renter] It's frustrating, because we pay for rent, we also pay for parking. And just knowing that every June that's going to increase significantly is frustrating.
And Annie pays almost as much each month in student loan debt as she does in rent. That makes saving for a downpayment to buy a home more difficult.
[Soundbyte on tape by Eric Belsky Harvard, Managing Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies] You add in the fact that incomes for low and moderate income people have not been going up as much as inflation, and you have a situation where it's just going to be difficult for them to buy a home
[Piece to camera by CNBC reporter Diana Olick] The good news is that construction on rental apartments has been ramping up and the Obama Administration is trying to entice more private capital back into the market. But with homeownership still out of reach for millions of Americans, rental demand is unlikely to ease any time soon - nor are rising rents.
Diana Olick, CNBC, Washington.
Li Sixuan, reporting from CNBC's Singapore headquarters.
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