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A "for rent" sign in front of a home in December 2023 in Miami, Florida. The price of rental properties began skyrocketing in 2020. They've come down a small amount, but studies show people across incomes are spending huge parts of their income on rent, leaving little left for other expenses. / Getty Images

Rent has skyrocketed in the United States. That means Americans are handing over a bigger portion of their paycheck to their housing costs. They have less money for things like food, electricity, and commuting.

The pandemic and inflation have both played a role in pushing rents higher.

Whitney Airgood-Obrycki a Senior Research Associate at Harvard's Joint Center on Housing Studies says rents are actually going down, but that increases have been so large it's going to take time for the market to even out.

We look at how rent prices got so high and what it might take to bring them down.

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