Many Americans are struggling to keep a roof over their heads amid the high cost of housing in the United States.
About half of homeowners and renters said they have periodically struggled this year to pay their mortgage or rent, according to a recent survey by online real estate broker Redfin. To meet their housing payments, some landlords and tenants report selling their belongings, working overtime, canceling vacations, taking on second jobs and even skipping meals.
The cost of housing in today’s market means “some families can no longer afford other essentials, including food and medical care, and have been forced to make major sacrifices,” said Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin, in a press release.
Redfin based its findings on a February survey of about 3,000 homeowners and renters.
A 2023 survey by Clever Real Estate found that 62% of homeowners sometimes struggle to make their mortgage payment on time.
The national median mortgage payment reached $2,184 in February, up from $2,061 a year ago and $1,750 in February 2022, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Median rents increased to $1,981 in February, up from $1,937 a year ago and $1,684 during the same period in 2022, according to Rent.com data.
Despite the high cost of housing, most homeowners have found a way to stay on top of their payments. The share of borrowers behind on their mortgages – defined as a homeowner who is 90 days or more delinquent – stands at 3.88% of all loans outstanding, according to the most recent MBA data. Between 1979 and 2023, the delinquency rate averaged 5.25%.
The percentage of homeowners behind on their mortgages is still low when all loans are considered, the MBA said in February, but newly signed loans are falling into default more quickly. Newer loans are at risk of going delinquent due to “resuming student loan payments, robust personal spending, and rising balances on credit cards and other forms of consumer debt, associated to falling savings rates,” said the MBA.
Christopher J. Brooks
Grub5
