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Fort Wayne Rent Too High For Some Households

Lisa Ryan
/
WBOI News

Fort Wayne rent prices are below the national average, according to a recent study from Apartment List, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the city can afford them. For some low-income households, rent prices are still too high.

In Fort Wayne, rent for two-bedroom apartments is actually down three percent from 2013, while the national average jumped three percent in the same period,according to the study.

Beth Wyatt, director of the Apartment Association of Fort Wayne, says the cost of living is lower in Fort Wayne than nearly all similarly-sized, neighboring cities. But Wyatt says some residents still struggle to afford rent.

“Even though our price points are very affordable compared to other cities, we kind of have a brewing problem in certain areas of our city where there are some income challenges, there’s some also some housing supply issues and aging housing stock that’s not being replaced,” Wyatt said.

Southeast Fort Wayne is one of those areas. Nearly half of the households in the southeast quadrant are cost-burdened, meaning they pay 30 percent or more of their income toward housing.

Wyatt says part of this problem is that there aren’t enough affordable housing options. While there is government-subsidized housing, many people are on waiting lists to move in.