ST. LOUIS — It's a national problem we're seeing locally too. Rent outpacing wages and putting people in a pickle.
For Barbara Kizzie, she's a new homeowner in St. Louis County, after handing over a rent check for 15 years.
"It was pretty stable for a good while and then it went up and up and the last rate increase was 20%," Kizzie said.
Rent went up while her income stayed the same.
Kizzie faced the same crisis people all across the country are dealing with.
According to a recent analysis by Zillow and StreetEasy, rent jumped 30% nationwide between 2019 and 2023, while wages rose only about 20%.
Renters in Tampa faced it the worst with rents outpacing wages by 35% during that time period. In comparison, rents outpaced wages in St. Louis by 8.6%.
Saint Louis University School of Business Professor Jerome Katz said rent soared during the pandemic when people moved to the suburbs.
"Wages have begun to slow down in increases and rent has not," Katz added, "even if the landlord raised the rents, people are willing to pay because the alternatives are so awful and that's what's causing the current problems."
It doesn't help when mortgage rates are up too.
"Now with mortgage rates so high, people trying to buy a home, it's almost unaffordable and so people who have apartments are holding onto them for dear life. Basically it's a waiting game," Katz said.
Katz said St. Louis' numbers are better than the national average.
Comparing renting and buying in the St. Louis area, a typical monthly rent is about $1,350 and a typical monthly mortgage payment is short of $1,700, according to BankRate.com. This makes it a $350 difference.
Katz said, "There is going to more pressure on everyone to make a little more money, especially as the market begins to loosen up and more opportunity is out there."
Kizzie said her mortgage is almost $100 more than her rent was.
The Urban League's Housing Division assisted Kizzie in her switch from renting to buying. Their programs offer assistance from rental and mortgage counseling to homeownership classes.
Paula E.W. Carey-Moore is St. Louis' Urban League Regional VP of Housing and Economic Empowerment.
She said, "The rents have skyrocketed, sometimes doubled, it's harder to find affordable housing."
Carey-Moore sees it as a growing problem and said some clients are scared, as some are facing evictions or foreclosures.
"We can help put a dent in this housing crisis that is going on," Carey-Moore added.
Kizzie made the pivot to purchase and found her key to success.
"You know how people say it takes a village, we found the village," Kizzie said with a smile.