Rent eating up a record share of Americans' disposable income

[NEW YORK] If it feels like the rent keeps going up, you're not alone: The share of US disposable income that went toward such spending totaled 3.81 per cent in the third quarter, marking the highest share in data going back almost six decades.

Rising shelter costs have accounted for most of the inflation in the US during this economic expansion. While part of the rising rental share of spending may result from falling homeownership in recent years, the price index for rental of tenant-occupied nonfarm housing rose 3.7 percent in the year through September, according to data published Monday by the Commerce Department, near the fastest pace seen in the last decade.

Nominal disposable personal income in September was up just 2.9 per cent from a year earlier, marking the 22nd straight month in which it grew at a slower rate on a year-over-year basis than rental inflation.

BLOOMBERG