Some renters are having difficulty paying their rent.
Research shows that approximately 24% of American renters experience rent affordability issues due to rising rent prices and other factors. It was launched on Monday by Intuit Credit Karma.
According to the company, a total of 36% of adult Americans rented.
The survey surveyed more than 1,200 U.S. adults and was conducted online from Nov. 20 to Nov. 26.
According to Intuit Credit Karma, just under a third (30%) of millennial renters say they are struggling to cover their rent. Among Gen Z, it was 27%.
Meanwhile, one in 10 Americans age 69 and older said they “no longer can afford to pay rent,” the survey said.
In a separate report on Monday, online real estate brokerage Redfin Median asking rent in the US $1,964 in December.
Compared to the previous month, it decreased by 0.2%.
But the median price landlords were asking renters to pay in December remained 4.4% lower than the record $2,054 in August 2022, according to Redfin.
“High supply rather than low demand is causing rents to fall. However, if mortgage rates continue to fall rapidly in 2024, a slowdown in rental demand could become the main driver of rent declines. “That's because more Americans are leaving the rental market and becoming homeowners, creating more vacancies for landlords,” said Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage for the week ending Jan. 4 was 6.62%, according to Freddie Mac.
The Intuit Credit Karma survey further found that approximately 38% of renters say they have started giving up on certain necessities because they need to cover rent.
Research shows that 19% of renters rely on family or friends for housing because they can't afford to pay rent, compared to 25% of Gen Z and Millennials.
Intuit Credit Karma also found that 46% of Americans have a bleak outlook on the likelihood of purchasing a home in the future.
“Our research shows that more than half of Americans (57%) allocate a large portion of their income to housing costs, leaving little room for other parts of their budget,” Intuit Credit Karma Consumers says financial advocate Courtney Alev. “Generally, it is recommended that consumers spend half their income on housing and other necessities, such as groceries and household expenses.”
According to Redfin, the median asking rent in the U.S. has declined for the third consecutive month. On an annual basis, prices fell by 0.8% in December.
Online real estate agents have linked the drop in prices to the large number of rental properties currently available on the market, as well as other factors.
