Dive Brief:

• Although construction firms will build more than 320,000 apartment buildings this year, the supply of for-rent housing is not keeping pace with demand, according to an analysis of Census data by affordable housing advocate Enterprise Community Partners.

• The result: Rental prices are growing nearly twice as fast as wages, according to an ABC News report that quoted real estate firm Zillow and the U.S. Department of Labor.

• So more than one-quarter of rental households are devoting half of their family income—or more—to rent and utilities, the report said. And the number of households in that group has increased by 26% since 2007—to 11.25 million.

Dive Insight:

The report points to the need for more affordable housing. For multifamily builders, the ongoing, heavy demand for apartments could mean continued opportunities in the sector. Even a handful of for-sale builders, like Lennar, have started building rental properties as demand for those units outpaces homebuying activity.

Still, high rents leave many tenants unable to save money, which means they cannot afford the down payments required for purchasing a home. That has led many potential first-time homebuyers to delay their plans to purchase property.