Survey: Election outcome unlikely to improve ‘housing crisis’
While most Americans in a recent survey want Congress to prioritize housing affordability, they are skeptical that the midterm elections will have much effect.
Key points:
- Nearly three-quarters of the respondents surveyed in September said the country is facing a housing crisis, but 58% believe current policies are making affordability worse.
- Expectations are low for both parties: Just 21% of respondents believe affordability will improve under a Republican Congress and 37% think the Democrats could do better.
- Among the non-homeowners surveyed, the vast majority said they couldn’t afford to buy a house today, and more than half are struggling to pay their current housing costs.
With high home prices and elevated mortgage rates contributing to the financial strain already felt by many Americans, housing may be an issue to watch heading into the upcoming elections, according to a recent Clever Real Estate survey.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the 1,000 respondents in Clever's poll, which focused on housing and other economic and policy issues, said the U.S. is in the midst of a housing crisis. Seventy percent said housing is a bigger issue today than it was in the 2024 election and 78% want the next Congress to prioritize housing affordability.
Despite these concerns, 63% of Americans have little faith that the outcome of the midterm elections will make the housing market any better, the survey found.
A pessimistic outlook
Many Americans seem disenchanted with how legislators are handling housing issues.
About 58% of respondents said existing government policies are worsening housing affordability and 36% said they feel like neither political party has a clear plan to improve the economy. Nearly two-thirds said they're angry about housing costs, with 78% of non-homeowners expressing this sentiment compared to 57% of homeowners.
If Republicans retain control of Congress, 49% of those surveyed said they anticipate affordability will get worse, while just 21% think it will improve. If Democrats take the house, 31% of respondents expect worsening affordability, but a slightly higher share — 37% — believe it will get better.
However, many Americans also seem to be unaware of current housing policies and their local candidates. Most of those surveyed (71%) said they didn't know about the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act that was passed in July, and 64% of those surveyed said they aren't familiar with their congressional candidates' positions on housing.
Affordability concerns across the board
In addition to housing concerns, pocketbook issues were top voting priorities among those surveyed, with inflation and the cost of living cited by 77% of respondents. Healthcare (63%), energy and gas prices (60%), Social Security and Medicare (59%) and taxes (52%) rounded out the top five issues Americans will consider when filling in their ballots.
Survey respondents were concerned with costs from all angles. A staggering 87% said they're worried about tariffs and the price of imported goods, and 77% believe tariffs have made homebuilding more expensive.
Almost half of Americans (48%) blame the Trump administration for the housing affordability crisis, while 37% pin it on corporate and institutional investors, 33% on mortgage lenders and banks, 33% on developers and 23% on the Biden administration.
Despite their grievances about high housing costs, most Americans don't want more housing built near them. Only 21% support more high-density housing in their neighborhoods.
Barriers to homeownership
Fifty-eight percent of Americans said they couldn't afford to buy a home today, including 47% of homeowners and 86% of non-homeowners. Nearly a third said they struggle to afford their current housing payments, with renters hit the hardest (53% of non-homeowners had trouble paying housing costs vs. 22% of homeowners).
Covering their monthly mortgage or rent wasn't the only housing concern among respondents: 90% said they're concerned about rising property taxes, 88% are worried about homeowners insurance, 76% are concerned about elevated mortgage rates and 70% are concerned about rent prices.
Non-homeowners said their biggest barriers to homeownership include home prices (58% of non-homeowners), insufficient income (51%), an inability to save due to high rent prices (45%) and saving for a down payment (40%).