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The cost of living is more than some people can manage right now, as mortgage payments are near their all-time high, so they’re making sacrifices to make ends meet. New research from Redfin finds that half (49.9%) of homeowners and renters in the U.S. struggle to afford their housing payments, leading them to give other things up to keep a roof over their heads.
The real estate company’s survey of nearly 3-thousand (2,995) U.S. renters and homeowners reveals:
- Almost 15-hundred (1,494) respondents “sometimes, regularly or greatly” have had a hard time paying their rent or mortgage payments in the last year.
- To make sure they can afford housing, more than a third (34.5%) are taking fewer vacations, or none at all.
- That’s the most common sacrifice people are making, followed by skipping meals (22%) and working extra hours at their job (20.7%).
- But some have even sold their belongings (20.6%), borrowed money from friends or family (17.9%) or dipped into their retirement savings (17.6%).
- Nearly one in seven millennials have used retirement savings to pay for housing, compared to 15.5% of Gen Xers and 27.5% of baby boomers.
- Others have delayed or skipped healthcare or medical treatments to pay for housing (15.6%), worked a side hustle (14.7%) or received a financial gift from a loved one (14.3%).
- Baby boomers are the generation most likely to say they easily afford housing payments (61.9%), followed by Gen X (48.7%), millennials (40.2%) and Gen Z (26.9%).
- Homeowners (59.9%) are also about twice as likely as renters (30.8%) to report easily affording their housing payments.
Read the article at Redfin