RENTS SURGING! BAD FOR LOW-INCOME TENANTS. GOOD FOR HOUSING MARKET. THAT’S LIFE. SORRY.

Bad news is good news :

The share of renters who spend more than half their income on housing is at its highest level in half a century and it’s no longer just low-income tenants who are feeling the pain, according to a Harvard University study scheduled for release Tuesday. . . .

The study offers the latest in a series of grim statistics about the scarcity of rental housing, especially for the working poor. The supply has not kept up with demand in part because of a shortage of apartments, a key source of new rentals.

Even middle-income tenants are feeling the squeeze from rising rents? I wonder if some of them might soon consider some more economic alternatives. . . . The Harvard study might constitute “the latest in a series of grim statistics about the scarcity of rental housing for the working poor,” but it’s bullish for the housing market, just the same. “Scarcity” isn’t a word that’s been associated with housing lately, after all. As rents keep rising, home prices should soon follow. . . . And don’t forget about lagging household formation. That can’t last forever. One can only live with one’s parents for so long before going insane. . . .