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”.

  • pixxelkick@lemmy.world
    2·
    8 months ago

    I wonder if you’ll sing a different tune after the next rounds of tech layoffs.

    I am completely unaffected by this, as I am not clinging to the hulls of sinking ships.

    A perfect example of this is actually people who stayed in the same exurban area and work similar jobs to the generation before them. I have relatives that are teachers, and former neighbors who are teachers. Wanna guess which generation is barely making ends meet in a shitty little house and which is living fat and rich next to engineering and management neighbors?

    Local internet denizen struggles to grasp that wealth is accrued over time, more news at 11.

    If you keep comparing apples to oranges, you’ll never be happy.

    Also, to flip it around, if you ask both if those households what budgeting tools they use, do you think you’ll get similar answers?

    I’d strongly bet the the folks struggling will go “what do you mean”? And those doing well will go “We use x”

    I’d also bet if you open the two households fridges and cupboards you’ll get extremely different results that help shed some light on the situation.

    I have so many, so many friends my age that complain about money, then I visit their home abd see their fridge and I instantly think “oh, well, now I see why they are having issues…”

    It’s become very difficult to not just assume it’s either budget issues, or a total lack of willing to change location/job. It’s pretty much always one of those two.

    The times I’ve seen people complain about it, and then their car has a bunch of fast food wrappers in it is endless. It’s a plague.

    And I don’t necessarily blame them. I blame the lack of support networks, schooling, etc, that didn’t teach them how to manage their lives. The wests’ school systems churn kids out like a factory.

    It’s not impossible to claw your way out, but a lot if wealthy people 100% want you to think it is so you don’t even try.

    Instilling apathy is such a powerful form of control and oppression. Why bother? You can’t do it. Give up. You’ll never afford things. Just keep buying random pick me ups off Amazon instead.

    Reminder that the same wealthy individuals that control nearly every source of news and info you consume also are heavily invested in city infrastructure.

    The news outlets you consume from have a vested interest in keeping you thinking clawing your way up and out is impossible

    • aesthelete@lemmy.world
      1·
      8 months ago

      I am completely unaffected by this, as I am not clinging to the hulls of sinking ships.

      Good for you! 👍

      Local internet denizen struggles to grasp that wealth is accrued over time, more news at 11.

      They were at their current stages at comparable ages as well. The teachers from the boomer generation were already in their fat pad by the time they were in their 30s. Which I noticed you didn’t even bother guessing, because you knew it already.

      The older set was a member of a teacher’s union and the other set (of course) teaches at a charter school.

      It’s oranges to oranges and it is not my story. I’m “clinging to the sinking ship” of high tech.

      I have so many, so many friends my age that complain about money, then I visit their home abd see their fridge and I instantly think “oh, well, now I see why they are having issues…”

      You sound like a lovely, empathetic friend. /s

      It’s not impossible to claw your way out, but a lot if wealthy people 100% want you to think it is so you don’t even try.

      No, they don’t. They want to tell you to hustle and get your grind set on…in other words they speak very similar lines of bullshit to the plebs as you are here.

      The news outlets you consume from have a vested interest in keeping you thinking clawing your way up and out is impossible

      Dude, the wealthy people news especially is full of side hustle this and grindset that. They want you to get roped in by business schemes that further enrich them directly. The former head of the department of education was an MLM owner.

      Again, I’m doing just fine and dandy. The difference is I have eyes and ears and I use them. You’re only half or a quarter enlightened if you think only racial disparities provide systemic barriers to class mobility in this country. I read a book that was a complete analysis of the meritocracy from the perspective of schooling, employment, etc. that was hundreds of pages long and actually used data to make its arguments. One of its main findings is that the racial gap in education is narrower than the gap caused by wealth disparity. In other words, you’re worse off being a white poor kid in the modern educational system than you are being a rich black kid.

      Jobs used to educate their workers. Upward mobility was available for people who had very little education. You could afford a house, two cars, and four kids on a single salary taken home by a person with only a high school diploma.

      Sure, maybe it was a mirage, but other countries have been able to make gains on social and class mobility while the US steadily goes the other direction. Then everyone gets told by people like yourself to disbelieve their eyes and ears when they go house hunting and every house is 2x as expensive as it was a half decade earlier.