Survey: Most Americans Say Housing Affordability Issues Persist
Four of five Americans continue to believe that housing affordability has abated little since the onset of the Great Recession, according to a survey of housing attitudes by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago.
The annual How Housing Matters survey reported most adults have made “sacrifices” to pay rent or mortgage. A large majority also said they want elected officials and candidates to address housing affordability.
Key findings of the survey:
–Eighty-one percent of respondents continue to believe that housing affordability is a problem in America today.
–Nearly seven in ten adults (68 percent) believe that it is more challenging to secure such housing today than it was for previous generations;
–More than three in five adults (63 percent) believe a great deal or fair amount can be done to address problems of housing affordability;
–The same proportion (63 percent) believes this issue has not yet received enough attention from presidential candidates.
“Too many Americans today believe the dream of a decent, stable home, and the prospects for social mobility, are receding,” said MacArthur President Julia Stasch. “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.”
Other survey findings:
–Only 29 percent of adults now believe conditions have improved since the Great Recession, down six percentage points from last year. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed believe we are still in the middle of the housing crisis (44 percent) or the worst is yet to come (19 percent). The proportion of Americans who believe the crisis is over had been steadily increasing, from 20 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2014 to 35 percent in 2015, before trending down this year. It is especially pronounced among renters (-12-point difference from 2015), those 65 and older (-12), those with a four-year college or more education (-10), African Americans (-10), Hispanics (-13), city dwellers (-13) and those living in the Northeast (-10).
–Six in ten characterize housing affordability as a “serious problem.” A majority of adults (57 percent) say that housing affordability is a problem in the area in which they live, with two in five (39 percent) calling it a serious problem.
–Americans are optimistic that the problem of housing affordability is solvable and are solidly behind a variety of policy proposals to address these challenges. They do not believe, however, that the problem is receiving the attention it needs or deserves. Nearly two-thirds of adults (63 percent) believe actions can be taken to solve problems of housing affordability, and a significant majority (76 percent) believes it is very (60 percent) or fairly important (16 percent) for their elected leaders in Washington to do so.
–One-third of adults (34 percent) report that they know someone who has or have themselves been evicted, foreclosed upon, or lost their housing in the past five years. Three in ten adults (31 percent) spend more than 30 percent of their monthly household income on their rent or mortgage payment. Again this year, over half of the public (53 percent) report that they have made sacrifices over the past three years to be able to cover their rent or mortgage. These sacrifices have included taking on an additional job/more hours at work (24 percent), ceasing to save for retirement (19 percent), accumulating credit card debt (17 percent) or cutting back on healthy food (13 percent) or healthcare (11 percent).
–Sixteen percent of adults feel only somewhat stable and secure or unstable and insecure in their current housing situation, representing more than 37 million Americans.
–Strong majorities favor revising the tax code to help those earning between $40k and $70k to buy homes (total support 81 percent); expanding housing support for low-income families with children (80 percent); letting developers build more units if they include some targeted to families earning less than $50,000 (79 percent); requiring communities to ensure 20 percent of housing is affordable to families earning less than $50,000 (74 percent); ensuring programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit provide income assistance to cover housing costs (74 percent); expanding rental housing assistance (73 percent); or giving renters a federal tax break similar to the mortgage interest deduction (70 percent).
–The pendulum continues to swing back toward the belief that owning a home is an excellent long-term investment, with 60 percent of adults believing so, up 10 percent since 2014. As recently as 2013, a majority of the public (57 percent) said that buying a home was becoming less appealing.
The survey can be accessed at www.macfound.org/hhm2016.
Hart Research Associates interviewed 1,200 adults, via landlines and cell phones, between April 28 and May 10.
