Renters are growing pessimistic they will ever own a home as prices keep rising
That’s the lowest level since the NY Fed began asking the question in 2015.
High prices appear to be a driving factor: Twenty-two percent of households in the survey report they planned to buy a home but now view renting as a better financial decision. Most respondents either prefer to rent (36%) or said they were waiting for prices to come down before buying (42%).
The shift in sentiment in the NY Fed survey was driven by families with less college education and lower income.
About one in three (34%) of those surveyed who make less than $ 60,000 think they will eventually own a home. That̵[ads1]7;s down from 46% in 2020.
Likewise, 34% of those with less than a bachelor’s degree expect to own a home, down from 46% two years ago.
Meanwhile, families are bracing for their rental rates to spike.
Households expect rent to climb by 11.5% over the next 12 months, nearly double the 6.6% pace anticipated in February 2021. And over the next five years, households expect annual rent to rise by 5.2%, compared with 4.4% a year ago.
“Taken together, these numbers suggest a spike in rents in the near future, followed by more moderate growth in subsequent years,” the NY Fed said in the report.
