The number of renters who believe they’ll never afford a home has skyrocketed in the last year as rates rose and stock shortages lifted home prices out of their late-2023 spiral.
A recent Redfin survey found that close to 38% of renters believe they are unlikely to become homeowners, up from 27% at the same time last year.
Lack of affordability is the most cited reason for their pessimism, with almost half of respondents saying houses are simply too expensive.
Trouble saving for down payments (35%), inability to afford mortgage payments (33%) and high mortgage rates (32%) accounted for the rest. Just 14% said they don’t want to own a home.
The combination of price appreciation and near-7% rates has…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Compared to homeowners, renters feel bad about their finances, but in most of the country renting is the more affordable option right now.
A recent Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll shows that homeowners are nearly twice as likely to say they are getting ahead financially when compared to renters. 57% of renters and 29% of homeowners described their financial situation as “poor.”
According to Emily Peck, a markets correspondent at Axios, part of the problem is that the median asking rent in the U.S. is up 40% from the first quarter of 2020. With average hourly earnings rising only 20% during the same time period, wages did not keep up with costs.
Homeowners were…
Rent price growth is finally slowing, a positive sign for the housing market.
The median asking rent rose 2.4% YOY in January, the smallest increase since May 2012 and the lowest level in almost a year, Redfin reported.
Month-over-month, rents decreased by 1.9% and were down 5.4% from August’s peak.
Eleven U.S. metros saw rents dip, with both Phoenix and Oklahoma City seeing declines of more than 6%.
Though prices are retreating, rents are still 22.5% higher than in January 2020.
Redfin analysts say rents are cooling because of increasing supply and lack of demand. Inflation, economic uncertainty, and low household formation have stalled demand.
“We’re watching closely to see whether rents start falling year-over-year. That would be a welcome…
Rent growth decelerated for the fifth straight month, but renters in lower-priced units are still feeling the squeeze as homeownership remains out of reach for most Americans. Single-family rents increased only 10.2% YOY in September, down from 13.9% in April 2022, according to recent data from CoreLogic. This is still double the pre-pandemic growth rate, but moving in the right direction. “High mortgage interest rates may be causing potential homebuyers to hit pause and remain renters, keeping pressure on rent prices. However, the monthly rent change was negative in September, resuming the typical seasonal pattern for the first time since 2019, which could signal the beginning of rent price growth normalization,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. Declining rents…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS As pet owners think about what their next move will be if they have to sell their homes due to the economic backlash of the pandemic, some organizations are advocating for increasing options for renters with dogs and cats. According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a survey of 5,020 people shows that during March of 2020 and May of 2021 a total of 19% of respondents said they had acquired a dog or cat during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s works out to an approximated 23 million American households who adopted a pet during those 14 months. When the pet owners were asked what their top concerns were as COVID restrictions lift,…
Renters were three times more likely to miss payments than homeowners during September and October, according to research from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Research Institute for Housing American (RIHA). The study, titled Housing-Related Financial Distress During the Pandemic, found that the share of renters who missed, delayed, or made a reduced payment rose to 9.6% in September and 10.9% in October. In July, that number was 9.6%. The share of homeowners who missed payments declined in the same period, to 3.2% in September, though it rose again in October to 3.8%. In July, that number was 3.8%, while in June it was 4.6%. Of those who missed their June rent, 17.2% also missed their September rent. Of homeowners who…
