Respondents used other coping mechanisms to manage housing costs, including selling their personal belongings (23 percent), delaying or skipping treatment (21 percent) or taking on side gigs (15 percent).
Redfin’s survey, conducted by Ipsos, surveyed 1,802 US adults ages 18 to 65 in September 2024.
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Although wages have grown over the past five years, they have not kept pace with rising rents and housing costs over the same period.
Most people earning less than $50,000 chose to rent, although rental rates, which have stabilized somewhat over the past year, remain about 20 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels. A Redfin survey released last month found that the number of rental homes paying less than $1,000 a month has dropped significantly, limiting affordable housing options.
The challenge is even more pronounced for prospective home buyers, as US home prices have risen more than 40 percent since before the pandemic. A report released by Redfin this summer found that a family now needs an annual income of $77,000 to buy a median-priced first home.
This problem of not being able to buy is especially difficult for younger generations such as Gen Z, who often earn less money than older generations.
More than 70 percent of Gen Zers have struggled to make rent or mortgage payments — the highest share of any generation. Of these Gen Zers, 24 percent sold their belongings, 21 percent skipped meals, 19 percent lived with a partner and 10 percent delayed or chose not to have children to make housing more affordable.
Millennials are also feeling the pressure, with 65 percent of them reporting difficulty paying their housing costs. Of those millennials, 23 percent skipped meals, 21 percent delayed or skipped medical care, 19 percent took side jobs and 13 percent dipped into their savings to keep up with mortgage payments.
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