The majority of American homeowners and renters (49.9%) struggle, occasionally or frequently, to pay their rent and mortgages, and many are making significant sacrifices to make ends meet, including not eating.
According to a Qualtrics poll that Redfin commissioned in February 2024. 2,995 homeowners and renters in the United States were polled for the nationally representative study.
The majority of this report’s sample consists of the 1,494 respondents who said they “regularly or greatly struggle” to afford regular rent or mortgage payments.
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According to Redfin, the relevant question was: “Which of the following, if any, changes or sacrifices did you make in the past year to afford your monthly housing costs, including mortgage or rent, insurance, parking heating/cooling/electricity, or homeownership association dues?”
The most common answer was skipping or taking fewer vacations. In order to pay for their monthly expenses, more than one-third of renters and homeowners (34.5%) who struggle to afford housing said they had to forgo vacations in the previous year.
However, a large number of individuals who have trouble paying for housing have made more significant sacrifices: 22% skipped meals and 20.7% put in additional overtime at work. Similar percentages (20.6%) sold personal items.
Among those who find it difficult to pay for housing, more over one in six (17.9%) took out loans from friends and family, and 17.6% took money out of their retirement accounts, with over one in seven (15.6%) delaying or skipped medical treatments.
“Housing has become so financially burdensome in America that some families can no longer afford other essentials, including food and medical care, and have been forced to make major sacrifices, work overtime and ask others for money so they can cover their monthly costs,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Fortunately, the country’s leaders are starting to pay attention, and homebuyers may get a reprieve in June if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, which would bring down the cost of getting a mortgage.”
The average price of a home sold in the United States is up 5% from a year ago, and mortgage rates are currently at 7%, which is not too far off the roughly 8% 23-year high that was reached in October.
The average household’s income is approximately $30,000 below what it requires to purchase a home at the median price, and rent is once again rising.
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