The conventional wisdom about renters is that most of them would prefer to own their homes, and that many eventually will buy a house.
However, a survey of more than 25,000 adults—about one-third renters, two-thirds homeowners—found the renters to be more burdened by debt than homeowners and severely short of emergency savings. For many renters, a 20% down payment to secure a mortgage is a pipe dream; for some, even the government’s recent plan to bring back mortgages with 3% down payments might be a bridge too far.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a nonprofit oversight organization authorized by Congress, conducted the study in 2012, and released its results last October.
For more on the multifamily housing sector, read BD+C's Special Report: "5 intriguing trends to track in the multifamily housing game"
In 2012, 36% of Americans were renters. The survey found them to be younger than homeowners; only 39% were married, compared to 63% of owners. Nearly three-fourths of renters (74%) had household incomes below $50,000, compared with 41% of owners.
The survey found renters to be less educated, and nearly twice as likely to be unemployed or temporarily laid off, than owners. Forty-two percent of renters are minorities, compared with 29% of owners.
About one in four renters (24%) said they found it “very difficult” to pay their bills, versus 12% of owners. Nearly half of renters (48%) said paying their bills was “somewhat difficult,” compared to 39% of homeowners.
Renters are burdened by a surfeit of debt. The survey found that renters were nine percentage points more likely than homeowners to carry credit card debt and nine percentage points more likely to carry student debt.
The difference was even more drastic for medical debt: 17 percentage points. (At the time the survey was taken, 68% of the renters said they had medical coverage, versus 85% of homeowners, but this was before the Affordable Care Act took effect.)
The scariest finding was that renters had practically no savings and live from paycheck to paycheck. Fifty-eight percent said they probably or definitely couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days to cover an unexpected expense, compared to 29% of homeowners. Only 22% of renters (versus 50% of owners) said they had enough savings to cover three months’ expenses.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 25, 2021
Top 160 Architecture Firms for 2021
Gensler, Perkins and Will, HKS, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Aug 25, 2021
The rise of entertainment districts and the inside-out stadium
Fiserv Forum, home to the 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks, proved that the design of the space outside a stadium is just as important as inside.
Architects | Aug 24, 2021
AIA’s Compensation Report reveals how architecture firms weathered the pandemic
According to the report, architecture firms lost 16,000 positions between February and their low in July of 2020.
Architects | Aug 19, 2021
BD+C Events
Building Design+Construction's annual events include the Women in Design+Construction conference and the ProConnect meeting series.
Architects | Aug 19, 2021
Quattrocchi Kwok Architects marks 35 years in business with commitment to social justice
QKA, the largest architecture firm in the North Bay area of San Francisco, has received the JUST 2.0 Social Transparency Label from the International Living Future Institute.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 19, 2021
Multifamily emerges strong from the pandemic, with Yardi Matrix's Doug Ressler
Yardi Matrix's Doug Ressler discusses his firm's latest assessment of multifamily sales and rent growth for 2021.
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Urban Planning | Aug 16, 2021
Building with bikes in mind: How cities can capitalize on the pandemic’s ‘bike boom’ to make streets safer for everyone
Since early 2020, Americans have been forced to sequester themselves in their homes with outdoor activities, in most cases, being the sole respite for social distancing. And many of people are going back to the basics with a quintessential outdoor activity: biking. Bike sales absolutely skyrocketed during the pandemic, growing by 69% in 2020.
Senior Living Design | Aug 13, 2021
Designing with dignity for senior living, with Mike Rodebaugh, LEO A DALY
In this exclusive interview for HorizonTV, Mike Rodebaugh, AIA, Senior Living Sector Leader with LEO A DALY, describes how his firm applies "hospitality magic tricks" in its senior living communities, using design to lend dignity to residents, staff, and residents' families and social circles.