In the heart of the American dream, a crisis brews as 33% of the population is now entrenched in renting, unable to break free into homeownership. This isn’t a matter of choice—65% of these renters are desperate to buy but find themselves locked out by the unaffordable down payments required to own a home.
The landscape of the American housing market has become a battlefield, where the odds are increasingly stacked against the average family. Housing costs have surged to become the largest expense in most household budgets, and the financial strain is palpable. To afford a home comfortably, Americans now need to earn a staggering 80% more than they did before the pandemic, as revealed by Zillow. This isn’t just a statistic—it’s a stark, unyielding barrier.
As we watch mortgage rates soar and incomes struggle to keep pace, one must ask: how long before the American dream of homeownership becomes nothing more than a nostalgic memory?
~33% of Americans rent their home instead of owning.
65% of those who rent did not buy a home because they CAN'T AFFORD A DOWN payment.
Notably, housing is the largest expense in most of US families' budget. pic.twitter.com/VSigu7qDwa
— Global Markets Investor (@GlobalMktObserv) May 22, 2024
Over the past two years, the median mortgage payment for homebuyers has grown six times more than household income. This isn’t sustainable: t.co/SwtLfrB2Mc
— Reef Insights (@ReefInsights) May 22, 2024
Households expect mortgage rates to rise to 8.7% a year from now and increase to 9.7% in three years’ time, per Bloomberg.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) May 22, 2024
“Inflation is at 3%” pic.twitter.com/XIYMNYK5pb
— Moot Toggle (@MootToggle) May 22, 2024