Americans agree: Housing affordability is a problem

Housing affordability is still a problem, as 81 percent of participants in the 2016 How Housing Matters Survey agree.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said that is more difficult to find affordable housing than it was for previous generations, but 63 percent said that something can be done to fix these problems. However, 63 percent were less-than-impressed with the current presidential candidates’ concentration on this matter across all political parties.

This year was the first in four years in which the percentage of participants believing the housing crisis is over decreased, from 35 percent in 2015 to 29 percent his year. Nearly 60 percent said that housing affordability is a problem where they live, and 39 percent classified it as a “serious problem,” according to the report.

“Too many Americans today believe the dream of a decent, stable home, and the prospects for social mobility, are receding,” said Julia Stasch president of MacArthur, the organization behind the study. “Having a decent, stable, affordable home is about more than shelter: It is at the core of strong, vibrant, and healthy families and communities. This survey demonstrates that the public wants action to address the nation’s real and pervasive housing affordability challenges.”

Affordable housing is essential to most people, as 85 percent deemed it as “very important,” just behind a good job, and equal to having health insurance and saving for retirement.
But housing right now is costing Americans a higher percentage of their salary, 31 percent spend more than 30 percent of their monthly household income on their housing. Fifty-three percent made sacrifices over the past three years to pay for their housing, including taking an additional job, or working overtime, cutting back on retirement savings, using credit cards more frequently, or cutting back on healthy eating.

Renters specifically are struggling, with one-third reporting feeling only somewhat stable at best with their housing situation.

“This year’s How Housing Matters survey reveals a surprising reversal of the trend in which Americans have been feeling more optimistic about the housing recovery, and concerns about housing affordability have remained remarkably durable. It is understandable why so many Americans are still skeptical about the housing recovery. Stable, affordable housing equates to feelings of security and having achieved a middle-class lifestyle, yet as Americans continue to make sacrifices to keep their homes. Americans want their elected officials to focus more on the challenge of affordable housing, and they think the issue has not so far received the attention it deserves from the candidates,” said Geoffrey Garin, president of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the study.