ST. LOUIS–More than half of all Americans now believe homeownership is out of reach for the average person, according to a new survey that also probed for differences in attitudes among homeowners and renters.
The survey, conducted by HomeBay.com, found 53% of non-homeowning Americans say they don’t believe they will ever be buying a welcome mat for their new place.
Among the other findings in the survey of 500 homeowners and 500 renters:
- 69% of renters believe owning a home would make them happier
- 60% of renters believe homeownership is out of reach
- 19% of homeowners wish they were still renting, but 88% still say homeownership makes them happy
More Findings
On every single aspect of life — from overall quality of life to mental health — homeowners were more satisfied than renters when measuring on a scale of 1 to 10, according to HomeBay.com.
Among the related findings:
- When asked to name the single biggest benefit of homeownership, the most common answer for homeowners was privacy (14%), while renters pointed to stability (16%)
- Homeowners say property taxes are the number-one drawback of owning a home (64%), and renters agreed (51%)
- Renters say the worst part of renting is the instability of rent prices (60%), and homeowners agreed (67%)
- Homeowners (10%) are 2.5x more likely than renters (4%) to say there are no benefits at all to renting
- When asked to name the single biggest benefit of renting, homeowners (20%) and renters (14%) cited not paying for maintenance or repairs
- 67% of renters are stressed about their finances, compared to 44% homeowners
- Renters are 86% more likely than homeowners to not consider themselves financially comfortable
- In light of a recent National Association of Realtors lawsuit about commission rates, a majority of renters (52%) and homeowners (52%) say having to pay the buyer’s commission fees would be a deterrent to purchasing a home. An additional 27% of each group said it would influence their decision to buy
The full report is available here.
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