The Year in Housing: The Middle Class Can’t Afford to Live in Cities Anymore
(Nano Calvo / VWPics / Redux)
There’s a battle playing out on a neighborhood level in every growing city in America: between those who want to keep property values high, and those who want the chance to live in the cities that have the best economic prospects. The casualties in this war are mostly the middle class. In 2016, rents continued their years-long rise, incomes stratified further, and the average price to buy a home in major US cities rose. The strain pushed the middle class out of cities.