Americans are sacrificing a lot just to be able to afford a roof over their head.
According to a recent Redfin survey, more than 44% of U.S. homeowners and renters said they struggle to afford their mortgage or rent payments. And because of that, they’ve been forced to forgo dining out at restaurants and taking vacations.
But what’s more alarming is they’re delaying major life milestones like getting married and having children. That’s according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in May of more than 4,000 U.S. homeowners and renters. That curtails with previous reporting from Fortune showing how high housing costs and other life expenses have forced Gen Z and millennials to delay the American Dream.
“We’re shining a light on [these homeowners and renters] because they speak to the lengths people go to make their housing payments,” according to Redfin.
Even though having pets became somewhat of the new craze for Gen Z and millennials who knew they couldn’t afford to have human children, that’s seemingly become too expensive on top of housing costs. Some people even report staying in a marriage or relationship longer than they wanted because they couldn’t afford housing plus a divorce or to live on their own.
The following are sacrifices Americans have made in order to afford housing, according to the Redfin report:
- Moved in with parents
- Moved in with other family members
- Moved in with roommates
- Moved in with a romantic partner
- I had to give up my pet(s)
- Gave up or reduced college savings for their kids
- Decided against or delayed having a child
- Enrolled my child(ren) in a low-rated school
- Moved in with my grown children
- Postponed getting a divorce or separation
And it shows in more data: The housing market has become so unaffordable for Gen Z and millennials, the number of first-time home buyers shrank to a historic low. The number of first-time homebuyers in 2004 was nearly 3.2 million, according to NAR data shared with Fortune in July Tuesday. By late 2024, that number had plummeted to just 1.14 million.
“We’re seeing a reshaping of the housing ladder,” Alexandra Gupta, a real estate broker with The Corcoran Group, previously told Fortune. The firm was founded by Shark Tank star, investor, and real estate legend Barbara Corcoran.
“Some first-time buyers are turning to long-term renting or even co-living models because the idea of owning a home has become so out of reach,” Gupta added, while others are relying on family support.
Meanwhile, Americans continue to struggle with housing payments because the pace of wage growth doesn’t match the clip at which home prices are growing. Home prices in the U.S. are more than 50% higher than they were right before the pandemic, but incomes haven’t increased enough.
To combat that challenge, many younger buyers are considering buying (or continuing to rent) with friends or family.
“Young buyers are adapting out of necessity and out of determination. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to build equity and stability, even if that means approaching ownership in ways their parents never considered,” Niles Lichtenstein, cofounder and CEO of real-estate platform Nestment, told Fortune. “Co-buying is a reflection of both the constraints of the market and the ingenuity of this generation.”
