Exclusive: most renters surveyed by Harris Poll say the areas they live in have become so unaffordable they are ‘barely livable’

Exclusive: most renters surveyed by Harris Poll say the areas they live in have become so unaffordable they are ‘barely livable’

The poll, conducted by the Harris Poll Thought Leadership and Future Practice, asked survey takers to identify themselves as renters or homeowners, along with other demographic information. Those polled were asked their opinion on home ownership in the United States. For many, especially renters, the outlook is bleak.

Though the vast majority of renters polled said they want to own a home in the future, 61% said they are worried they will never be able to. A similar percentage believe no matter how hard they work, they’ll never be able to afford a home.

“When you think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and housing is right at that foundational level of security, the implications on consumer psyche when things feel so unaffordable is something that will impact everyone,” said Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at Harris Poll. The American dream of owning a home “is looking more like a daydream for renters”.

  • LifeOfChance@lemmy.world
    344·
    10 months ago

    I’m currently selling my house because I can’t afford it anymore. When I bought the house I made sure it was 20% below my income. Mortgage went up $600 this year along with everything else I got robbed of home ownership. I worked tirelessly to buy the house and now being forced to sell I feel absolutely defeated…

    • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
      192·
      10 months ago

      I’m curious as to why you weren’t in a fixed rate mortgage.

        • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
          19·
          10 months ago

          If it’s 600 per month (as I am assuming), and it was split evenly between taxes and insurance, that would mean an increase in taxes of 3600 and insurance by 3600. My insurance for the entire year isn’t even close to that. My taxes went up on my million dollar (thanks to a nearly 50% increaseduring the pandemic) by 5%, which is less than 40 dollars a month. So I find it hard to believe that it is just the taxes and the insurance.

          As I said, I was assuming they meant per month, but I could be wrong and it’s only 600 for the year. But then if a 50$ increase per month in expenses pushed them the edge, they were never in a really comfortable territory to begin with.

        • Budd@lemmy.world
          6·
          10 months ago

          I’m at a fixed rate and my mortgage went up by $1200 a month. Mostly due to taxes increasing so drastically. They didn’t forecast the increase being so much so that caused problems in itself.

            • stoly@lemmy.world
              4·
              10 months ago

              This happens though. Property values increase around you and suddenly grand dad’s pension won’t cover land taxes.

                • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
                  7·
                  10 months ago

                  Nope. In California property taxes only go up when the property is sold. You will be taxed based on the sale price of your home as long as you own it. This is the result of a law (voter initiative?) passed a long time ago.

            • Clent@lemmy.world
              4·
              10 months ago

              Yeah, hard agree with you. Median tax per year is $2000-$6000, depending on state. There’s no room for a $1200 per month increase in there unless you live in a house way above median.

              The only way I see those numbers working out is if the house’s tax assessment increased in value by a million dollars in a single year.

    • Morcyphr@lemmy.oneEnglish
      2·
      10 months ago

      This is my fear. I’ve only had the house 2 years, exclusively rented before. I’m ‘making it’ right now, but a few years down, who knows. Sorry for you, hope it comes out okay.