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Americans Recognize Housing Affordability Crisis, Support New Policies To Fix the Market and Build More Homes
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Americans Recognize Housing Affordability Crisis, Support New Policies To Fix the Market and Build More Homes

New survey data show housing affordability is a salient national issue.

Rows of houses are seen from above in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Rows of houses are seen from above in Jersey City, New Jersey, on July 13, 2024. (Getty/Jakub Porzycki)

No matter what kind of community they live in, Americans understand it is getting harder for themselves and their neighbors to afford a home in their own community.

A national survey conducted by Data for Progress* on behalf of the Center American Progress found that 76 percent of Americans believe housing affordability is a growing problem, with people living in rural and suburban communities even more likely than residents of urban areas to say the problem is getting worse.

Housing affordability is a shared problem that is getting worse across the country.

Housing affordability is a shared problem that is getting worse across the country: 80 percent of Americans living in rural communities believe housing affordability is getting worse in their community, while 72 percent of residents in urban areas feel the same. This sense is shared across all demographics, regardless of partisan identification, race, age, gender, education, or whether you own or rent your home.

Unlike other policy issues being debated today, people believe the affordability of housing is a problem they are facing locally as well as one all Americans are facing nationally. No other issue except the cost of living hits as close to home.

FIGURE 2

Americans say the cost of housing is just as pressing in their own community as it is nationally

For each of the following, please indicate if you think the problem is getting better, worse, or staying about the same ...

The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±3 percentage points and is higher for subgroups.

Source: National survey of 1,223 U.S. likely voters conducted from September 13-16, 2024, by Data for Progress. See Data for Progress and Center for American Progress, “CAP 2024 Housing Survey,” September 19, 2024.

Americans say the cost of housing is just as pressing in their own community as it is nationally

For each of the following, please indicate if you think the problem is getting better, worse, or staying about the same ...

The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±3 percentage points and is higher for subgroups.

Source: National survey of 1,223 U.S. likely voters conducted from September 13-16, 2024, by Data for Progress. See Data for Progress and Center for American Progress, “CAP 2024 Housing Survey,” September 19, 2024.

Americans recognize the housing supply shortage

Current housing policy has made it far too difficult for hardworking Americans to afford a home. Across the board, Americans understand many of the problems causing prices to soar in the housing market are linked to a lack of adequate supply. Seventy-seven percent of Americans agree with the statement “America has a housing shortage, and we need more homes and rentals,” including 74 percent of voters living in the suburbs and 76 percent of those in rural communities.

Many policy analysts cite this simple lack of homes as the central cause of the housing crisis. Researchers estimate the United States has 3.8 million fewer homes than the American people need. Demand for homes is higher than supply in nearly every community and every region of the country. The inadequate number of newly built starter homes and nonluxury rental units is particularly concerning and has a disproportionate impact on why costs are skyrocketing.

Americans understand what policy analysts across the ideological spectrum are saying: The costs of building new homes are a major factor in why supply has not kept up with demand and has pushed affordable housing beyond the reach of many Americans. Eighty-three percent of Americans agree one of the reasons there are not enough homes is because the various costs to build, from land to construction finance, are too expensive.

Public perception of how people in the suburbs view housing development may be dated: 71 percent of Americans living in suburban communities agree it is a problem that “There aren’t enough homes because zoning rules limit the number and kind of homes we can build in too many neighborhoods.”

Americans distrust the rising power of private equity firms and corporate buyers

This supply shortage creates conditions for wealthy investors, private equity groups, and corporate property managers to exploit the tight market, squeezing excess profits from renters and crowding out first-time homebuyers.

Data show that these kinds of investors bought almost 1 in 4 homes sold in 2021. Purchases tend to be targeted to specific areas to increase market control and often happen in all-cash sales. In that same year, investors bought more than 30 percent of all single-family homes sold in Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona. What’s more, a MetLife Investment Management report estimates that corporations and private equity firms could own 40 percent of all single-family rentals by 2030.

Beyond understanding the basic supply problems, the public also has a fair expectation that the government will hold private equity firms and corporate landlords accountable, so hardworking homeowners, renters, and first-time buyers have a fair marketplace.

Americans see this threat coming, and 60 percent believe it is a serious problem that “Private equity firms and big investors are buying up too many homes to profit from them as rentals,” including more than 50 percent of Republicans, Americans older than age 45, and those living in rural communities. 

This market concentration gives large corporate landlords substantial ability to limit competition, up to the point of price gouging renters. New algorithmic tools allow these landlords to seamlessly share market data to limit competition and raise rents. Seventy-eight percent of Americans support action to prevent this anticompetitive behavior, with 54 percent strongly supporting it, making it the most strongly supported policy tested in the survey.

After addressing the exploitation of the market, Americans want to build and repair millions of affordable homes.

These proposals to eliminate tax breaks for investors who snap up homes to rent for profit and to crack down on the use of algorithmic price-fixing tools would bring greater accountability to the housing market, something Americans want to see addressed before the shortage of homes. More than 75 percent of Americans support these proposals, including strong support from 55 percent of Americans living in rural communities.

Americans support government action to make housing more affordable

After bringing greater accountability to the market, 80 percent of Americans support policies to both build and repair 3 million homes and rental units. With 66 percent of Americans viewing homeownership as a major part of their goals in life, there is deep and broad support for a variety of policy proposals to increase housing supply so hardworking Americans can afford their own home.

Real support exists to try out new housing policy approaches, including social housing programs that have been successful in creating permanently affordable housing in communities of many sizes. Seventy-nine percent of Americans support funding to help local communities build and maintain permanently affordable housing for American workers and their families.

See also

While the stigma of public housing may run deep in American culture, Americans’ perception may be more positive, recognizing that public housing plays a crucial role in many communities. The survey found that 47 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of public housing, while only 39 percent hold an unfavorable view.

Down payment assistance for American citizens who have paid their rent on time would also help hardworking families buy their first home. This policy garners wide support, including among 69 percent of all Americans. Unlike some policy proposals, which see lower support among people who wouldn’t directly benefit, homeowners may understand that first-time homebuyers are at a distinct disadvantage in the current housing market: 60 percent of people who already own a home express support for this proposal.

Lastly, Americans believe the government has a substantial responsibility to address housing costs. Sixty-four percent of Americans agreed with the statement “The government should have a role in the housing market. Housing is a basic necessity and the private market is unable to address many Americans’ affordability concerns.”

Conclusion

No matter what your neighborhood looks like or where it’s located, the goal of homeownership is drifting further out of reach for too many Americans. This new opinion research makes clear that Americans of all backgrounds want to see action and expect policymakers to outline new steps to bring down the cost of housing and build a stronger America.

* From September 13 to 16, 2024, Data for Progress conducted a survey on behalf of the Center for American Progress of 1,223 U.S. likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and 2020 recalled vote. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error associated with the sample size is ±3 percentage points.

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Authors

Joe Radosevich

Vice President, Campaigns and Outreach

Doug Turner

Senior Fellow

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