Renters face daunting barriers in their attempts to build wealth as they’re forced to devote an increasing share of their income to keeping a roof over their head, said an RBC report out Thursday.
The report by economist Carrie Freestone adds to a growing body of research painting a stark picture of the wealth divide between renters and homeowners.
Homeowners have seen their net worth grow from nine times household disposable income to 13 times since 2010, while for renters, net wealth grew from three to 3.5 times over the same period.
And while in 1999, renters devoted about 25% of take-home pay to housing costs compared with 23% for homeowners, in 2022 renters spent 29% on housing compared with 21% for homeowners.
The gap has widened even though renters’ incomes have risen at the same pace as homeowners, said Freestone. Meanwhile,…
