Half of Americans struggling to afford housing, survey finds (2024)

FAQs

Are half Americans struggling to afford housing survey finds? ›

Many Americans are struggling to keep a roof over their head amid the high cost of housing in the U.S. About half of homeowners and renters said they have periodically struggled this year to afford their mortgage payment or rent, according to a recent survey from online real estate broker Redfin.

Half of American renters are burdened by the cost of housing, according to a recent Harvard study, officially capturing the grim reality facing renters nationwide. Marianne Smith, a 65-year-old Oklahoma resident, is one of them -- paying about 35% of her income toward rent, she said in an interview with ABC News.

As a rule of thumb, personal finance experts often recommend adhering to the 28/36 rule, which suggests spending no more than 28% of your gross household income on housing. For someone earning $70,000 a year, or about $5,800 a month, this means a housing expense of up to $1,624.

A 2023 survey from Clever Real Estate found that 62% of homeowners sometimes struggled to make their mortgage payment on time.

"What we are building is at the high end, because of the increased cost of construction and because we have a lot of demand from higher-income renters," says Airgood-Obrycki. Most new apartments over the last decade have gone for $1,400 a month or higher, "and that's not affordable to the majority of renters."

Various factors can create a housing shortage. The current one is a result of: too few homes being built over decades; high mortgage rates making moving home unaffordable for homeowners; COVID-19 disruptions; and Wall Street investors buying up too many owner-occupied homes for rental.

Gen Zers living in California pay most on rent by age 30 — up to $300,000. When it comes to the metros where Gen Zers will pay the most on rent by the time they hit 30, major tech areas in California take the lead.

Lack of supply for affordable rentals is the obvious answer, and many landlords who originally cut prices during the pandemic are now boosting them way beyond the means of a low-income renter.

Rental prices are unaffordable for a record number of Americans, with half of all renters paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities. That's according to a new report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies that examined 2022 census data.

What credit score is needed to buy a $300K house? The required credit score to buy a $300K house typically ranges from 580 to 720 or higher, depending on the type of loan. For an FHA loan, the minimum credit score is usually around 580.

Can I afford a 300K house on a 60k salary? ›

An individual earning $60,000 a year may buy a home worth ranging from $180,000 to over $300,000. That's because your wage isn't the only factor that affects your house purchase budget. Your credit score, existing debts, mortgage rates, and a variety of other considerations must all be taken into account.

If you are a single person in Los Angeles making around $70,000 a year, you are still considered low-income, according to a new statewide study. The California Department of Housing and Community Development released the report in June and found that income limits have increased in most counties across California.

But with nearly two-thirds of retirement-age Americans having paid off their mortgages, it means that the average age they have gotten rid of that debt is likely in their early 60s. Stats from 538.com, for example, suggest the age is around 63.

Almost 40% of US homeowners own their homes outright as of 2022—many of them baby boomers who refinanced when rates were low.

40% of Americans Pay Off Their House — Are They Doing Better Financially? For most Americans, a home mortgage is the biggest financial obligation they will ever have. A traditional mortgage spans 30 years and is often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, so the interest charges can be enormous.

Between 2019 and 2022, cost burden rates rose an astounding 5.4 percentage points for renter households earning between $45,000 and $74,999 annually (Figure 2). As a result, 41 percent of these households were cost burdened.

American households spend an average of $21,409 per year on housing costs, which makes up 25.8% of total average earnings.