{"id":2335585,"date":"2024-09-02T11:46:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T15:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-dream-out-of-reach-only-10-polled-said-they-can-afford-to-buy-home-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-02T11:50:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T15:50:35","slug":"american-dream-out-of-reach-only-10-polled-said-they-can-afford-to-buy-home-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-dream-out-of-reach-only-10-polled-said-they-can-afford-to-buy-home-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"American dream out of reach? Only 10% polled said they can afford to buy home &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerican-dream-out-of-reach-only-10-polled-said-they-can-afford-to-buy-home-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2335585&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-rfk-jr-prepares-to-launch-independent-2024-bid-poll-shows-the-devastating-effect-it-will-have-on-biden\/\" title=\"RFK Jr.&#039;s 2024 Bid to Severely Impact Biden, Poll Reveals.\">recent poll\u200d reveals<\/a> that only\u200c 10% of Americans believe the &#8220;American dream&#8221; of homeownership is affordable, largely due to soaring inflation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brandon-johnson-proposes-tax-hikes-on-high-end-chicago-homes-to-fight-homelessness\/\" title=\"Brandon Johnson suggests increasing taxes on luxury homes in Chicago as a means to combat homelessness.\">high \u2063interest rates<\/a>, and a limited supply\u200b of affordable housing. Conducted by the Wall Street Journal\/NORC, this survey included 1,502 U.S. adults and indicated that \u200dsentiments about homeownership\u200b span across gender and political lines, with younger individuals expressing the most concern\u2062 about being priced out of\u200d the market. While 89% of participants view homeownership as important, only a small fraction find it achievable. \u2063 <\/p>\n<p>The findings also highlight a significant decline from \u2063past surveys, in \u2063which more \u2063than half of respondents believed in the\u200d attainability of the American dream.\u200d Economic research shows that \u200cthe gap between income growth and housing\u200b costs is widening, with home buyers requiring significantly \u2063higher incomes than just four years ago. <\/p>\n<p>Moreover,\u200b the\u2063 rental market reflects similar \u2064struggles, with rents skyrocketing \u2062by over 26% since early 2020, resulting in record levels of cost\u200c burden among renters. This situation underscores a broader \u2064trend of increasing difficulty in achieving financial security and homeownership for many Americans. The factors contributing to this \u200bcrisis include the &#8220;lock-in&#8221; effect of existing homeowners holding onto low mortgage rates, which restricts housing inventory and \u2062exacerbates the problem for potential \u2062new buyers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">American dream out of reach? Only 10% polled said they can afford to buy home<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1743430\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Only 10% of those surveyed in a new poll said the &ldquo;American dream&rdquo; of homeownership is affordable, with others citing 40-year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inflationary-woes-more-chain-stores-closed-in-2023-continuing-into-2024\/\" title=\"Inflation hits hard: Chain store closures persist in 2023, extend into 2024\">high inflationary costs<\/a>, 23-year-high interest rates, limited supply of affordable housing and earnings that have eroded because of inflation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>According to a Wall Street Journal\/NORC poll of 1,502 U.S. adults, the sentiment was consistent across gender and party lines, with young Americans expressing the greatest despair, saying they&rsquo;ve &ldquo;been priced out of homeownership.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While 89% of respondents said owning a home is either essential or important to their vision of the future, only 10% said homeownership is easy or somewhat easy to achieve,&rdquo; the Journal reported. &ldquo;Financial security and a comfortable retirement were similarly labeled as essential or important by 96% and 95% of people, respectively, but rated as easy or somewhat easy to pull off by only 9% and 8%.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Twelve years ago, in a different survey, more than half of 2,500 polled said the American dream of homeownership &ldquo;still holds true.&rdquo; That is no longer the case, the Journal notes.<\/p>\n<p>It also points to a study published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that found that 90% of Americans born in 1940 &ldquo;were ultimately better off than their parents&rdquo; but only roughly 50% &ldquo;of those born in the 1980s were able to say the same.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is after a Zillow report showed that home buyers need 80% more income to buy a home today than they did four years ago, The Center Square reported earlier this year. Monthly mortgage payments, with 10% down, for a typical U.S. home had nearly doubled at the time since January 2020, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>While costs have increased, wages have not kept up. In 2020, a household income of $59,000 a year &ldquo;could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, spending no more than 30% of its income with a 10% down payment,&rdquo; Zillow noted. &ldquo;That was below the U.S. median income of about $66,000, meaning more than half of American households had the financial means to afford homeownership.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The situation is especially dire for first-time homebuyers in major cities where inflated home prices reflect limited supply and higher demand, realtors have explained to The Center Square. With more people attempting to leave the rental market, less homes are being offloaded and new construction can&rsquo;t meet the demand.<\/p>\n<p>Because many homeowners refinanced their mortgages when interest rates were much lower during the COVID-era lockdowns, they aren&rsquo;t selling now with interest rates more than double what they were a few years ago after the Federal Reserve increased the base rate to its highest level in decades.<\/p>\n<p>This is described as the &ldquo;lock-in&rdquo; effect, a Harvard report explains, &ldquo;whereby current homeowners with below-market interest rates are disincentivized to move &hellip; dramatically reducing the number of homes available for sale.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Due to high inflationary costs, high interest rates, low inventory, the lock-in effect and other factors, &ldquo;homeownership is increasingly out of reach,&rdquo; the report says.<\/p>\n<p>Rents are also at record highs, having increased by more than 26% nationwide since early 2020, the Harvard report states. Rental rates have increased faster than income for decades. Half of all renter households, 22.4 million, were cost burdened in 2022, the highest number on record, it says. Cost-burdened is defined as renters or homeowners spending more than 30% of their income on housing and utilities, according to the report.<\/p>\n<p>According to a Redfin analysis, 61% of renters can&rsquo;t afford the median apartment rate nationwide, The Center Square reported.<\/p>\n<p>Relief doesn&rsquo;t appear to be coming any time soon, according to a Bank of America analysis. The U.S. housing market is &ldquo;&lsquo;stuck and we are not convinced it will become unstuck&rsquo; until 2026 &ndash; or later,&rdquo; CNN reported.<\/p>\n<p>Home prices are anticipated to stay high and expected to increase due to a housing shortage. Mortgage rates are also not expected to decrease even after a base rate cut is expected this month by the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This will take many years to work itself out. There isn&rsquo;t a magic fix,&rdquo; Bank of America&rsquo;s head of US economics, Michael Gapen, told CNN. &ldquo;The message for first-time homebuyers is one of patience and frustration.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>What&rsquo;s been described as a &ldquo;one-two punch&rdquo; has made 2024 an historically unaffordable time to buy a home, especially for first-time homebuyers.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a weird combination. Mortgage rates rose substantially but so did home prices. That typically doesn&rsquo;t happen,&rdquo; Gapen said.<\/p>\n<p>Bank of America also projects that the lock-in effect could continue for another six to eight years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1743430\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1743430\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is the American dream unattainable? A recent poll reveals that just 10% of respondents believe they can afford to purchase a home. The survey highlights several factors contributing to this sentiment, including the highest inflation rates in 40 years, interest rates at a 23-year peak, a scarcity of affordable housing options, and stagnant wages eroded by inflation. Conducted by the Wall Street Journal\/NORC with 1,502 U.S. adults, the findings show consistent feelings across different genders and political affiliations, particularly among younger Americans who feel they have been &#8220;priced out&#8221; of homeownership.<\/p>\n<p>While 89% of participants consider owning a home essential or important for their future aspirations, only 10% find it easy or somewhat easy to achieve that goal. Similarly, financial security and comfortable retirement were deemed essential or important by 96% and 95%, respectively; however, only 9% and 8% felt these goals were easily attainable.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to twelve years ago when over half of those surveyed believed in the viability of the American dream regarding homeownership, current sentiments have shifted significantly. A study from MIT indicates that while around 90% of individuals born in the year 1940 ended up better off than their parents, only about half of those born in the &#8217;80s can say the same.<\/p>\n<p>A Zillow report earlier this year noted that prospective homebuyers now require an income that&#8217;s approximately 80% higher than four years ago due to soaring prices; monthly mortgage payments for typical homes nearly doubled since January 2020 with a down payment of just ten percent. In contrast to rising costs, wages have not kept pace\u2014back in 2020 an annual household income of $59K could comfortably cover mortgage payments on an average U.S. home without exceeding one-third of its income.<\/p>\n<p>The situation is particularly challenging for first-time buyers in major urban areas where inflated prices stem from limited supply coupled with high demand as more people exit rental markets without enough new construction coming online to meet needs. Many existing homeowners refinanced during lower interest periods amid COVID-19 lockdowns and are now reluctant to sell given today&#8217;s much higher rates\u2014a phenomenon known as &#8220;lock-in.&#8221; This has led to fewer homes being available for sale.<\/p>\n<p>With ongoing high inflation costs combined with elevated interest rates and low inventory levels exacerbated by this lock-in effect among current homeowners\u2014homeownership is increasingly seen as out-of-reach according to reports. Rents have also surged dramatically\u2014over twenty-six percent nationwide since early-2020\u2014with rental increases consistently outpacing wage growth over decades; resulting in record-high numbers (22 million) classified as cost-burdened renters spending more than thirty percent on housing expenses last year.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly analysis from Redfin shows that sixty-one percent cannot afford median apartment rents across America while Bank Of America forecasts no immediate relief ahead\u2014the housing market remains \u201cstuck\u201d until at least twenty-six\u2014or later\u2014with persistent high prices expected due largely due shortages along with sustained elevated mortgage rates even after anticipated Federal Reserve base rate cuts soon arrive according CNN reporting . <\/p>\n<p>Bank Of America&#8217;s chief economist Michael Gapen emphasizes patience amidst frustration will be necessary for first-time buyers navigating what he describes as an unprecedented combination: rising mortgage costs alongside escalating property values\u2014a scenario rarely witnessed before\u2014and warns this lock-in effect may persist another six-to-eight years further complicating prospects moving forward into twenty-four!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2335586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-172294809-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[39522,37423,25147,39098,32076],"class_list":["post-2335585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-american-dream","tag-economic-trends","tag-homeownership","tag-housing-market","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/iStock-172294809-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2335586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}