There be another article titled "Landlords are demanding 20% more a year than two years ago" and that would explain a large portion of the American economy wonkiness.
Yeah, my in-laws rent went up nearly 40% and the property management claimed it was due to upgrades (the upgrade was a new coat of paint on the building). That took them out of the range of being able to afford their apartment and other necessities with social security and a meager retirement. They had to move to a new place in a bad area and my MIL had to start working again.
I live in DC, it is ridiculously expensive but rent increases are capped, google says the formula is CPI + 2% but no more than 10%/yr. If she stayed in the same unit she might want to make sure her landlord isn't raising her rent illegally.
Economic growth raises property values, speculators pile on hoping to make money for nothing, property values rocket upward taking rents with them, rents exceed their productive value, businesses close and people leave because the rent is too damn high, and recession ensues. Expect property owners to hang on as long as they can.
Henry George laid this out 144 years ago in Progress and Poverty. Once you've seen it, you can't un-see it.
