Study: Nearly Half of Americans Fear Unaffordable Housing Costs

Consumers are worried about making their monthly mortgage payments—so much so that some are taking on a side hustle or borrowing from friends or family to make sure they are able to keep up. They are also skipping vacations or staying at a job they dislike to pay for their housing costs, a new survey from LendingTree finds. Many respondents also say they are considering moving to lower their living expenses.

Seventy percent of 1,400 Americans recently surveyed said they have made a sacrifice to pay for housing, according to the survey. Nearly half of the respondents with a monthly rent or mortgage payment say they were concerned about making a payment during the past month. Gen Z is the most concerned group at 67%, followed by millennials (59%), parents with kids younger than 18 (59%), households earning less than $35,000 (57%), women (57%), and renters (57%), the study found.

 

 

About 30% of respondents said they have taken on a side hustle or other job to afford monthly housing costs. Twenty-nine percent have borrowed from family and friends, the survey shows.

 

LendingTree researchers found the following actions were most common among certain demographics trying to keep up with rent or mortgage payments:

• Men: Take on a side hustle or other job (23%)
• Women: Borrow from friends or family (37%)
• Gen Zers: Take on a side hustle or other job (51%)
• Millennials: Take on a side hustle or other job (38%)
• Gen Xers: Borrow from friends or family (32%)
• Baby boomers: Take money from their savings (15%)
• Renters: Borrow from friends or family (42%)
• Owners: Take money from their savings (24%)

Sixty-nine percent of consumers surveyed said they made sacrifices to pay their rent or mortgage, including skipping a vacation (37%), staying in a bad job (22%), and cutting back on grocery purchases (20%).