According to a new survey by online lending platform Lending Tree, 48 per cent of US renters are worried that they will not be able to afford to buy a house for the rest of their lives.
This concern is most acute among "Generation X" (41-55) and "millennials" (25-40) renters. 55% of Generation X and 52% of millennial renters worry that they will not be able to afford to buy a house in their lifetime.
"people in the middle of their careers, especially Gen X at the peak of their income, think,'if I haven't bought a house yet, I probably won't buy it again,'" said Jacob Channel, a senior economic analyst at Lending Tree.
'The mood is worrying because owning a house is a big source of wealth for the average family, 'Mr. Chanel said.
"what they have seen for some time, especially during the epidemic, is that house prices are rising very fast, while wages are not keeping up," he said. "
Middle-class Americans rely more on home equity as a source of wealth than wealthy families, because wealthy families tend to have more financial assets such as stocks and bonds, according to the Pew Research Center.
In the first quarter of 2021, Americans held $34 trillion worth of real estate assets, or about 23% of total household assets, according to the Federal Reserve. The total mortgage debt of American households amounts to $11 trillion.
Lending Tree conducted an online survey of 2050 American consumers from August 2 to 6. The company does not conduct the survey every year, so it is difficult to compare home buying sentiment over the past few years.