Tag Archives: Renters

Although rents continue to rise at a rapid pace, many Americans are still shying away from the real estate market due to down payment and credit score troubles.

When deciding whether or not to buy or rent a home, purchasing a home is typically more favorable in many of today's housing markets, depending on how long a buyer plans to stay, but one generation still struggles with the buy vs. rent decision.

Homeownership is on the minds of most Americans and despite rising prices, they still believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision.

New Freddie Mac research reveals that despite rising rents, the majority of renters are not motivated to purchase a home and positive perceptions about renting are increasing. Harris Poll was selected by Freddie Mac to conduct the survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults online in March 2015 to get their renting viewpoints.

But these declining numbers are nothing new. The numbers of renters making the transition to homeownership has dropped consistently over the past couple of years, and rates have remained below 17 percent mark (the historical average) since 2008.

Renter confidence rose 4.4 points from last year to 62.4, with roughly 5.2 million renters saying they expect to buy a home this year. That’s an increase of 1 million from last year, when 4.2 million renters said they expect to buy a home. Homeowner confidence rose 3.3 points from last year to 70.6.

In a survey of more than 2,000 American adults, 61 percent of renters said they don't plan to purchase a house at any point in the next three years, Freddie Mac said Monday. When asked why they expect to keep renting for the near future, half of respondents said they can't afford to make a down payment for a mortgage, while 38 percent said they can't afford a monthly mortgage payment.

The latest conundrum in the U.S. housing market appears to be that while homes in 94 percent of the country's top metro areas are more affordable than they've ever been, rents are so high that renters in 88 percent of those metros can't afford to save up enough for a down payment to buy a home. According to Zillow's July Real Estate Market Report, a mere 12 metros out of the top 100 in the U.S. feature an affordable market for housing and rentals.