More Than 1 in 4 American Homeowners Is ‘House Poor’

Why It Matters: Housing costs are on the rise nationwide

Mortgage interest rates, which dipped to historic lows at the beginning of the pandemic, climbed past 7 percent in 2022 — the highest numbers seen since 2002. And although rates slightly cooled in the early months of 2023, new homeowners today are still straddled with significantly higher monthly mortgage payments than neighbors who locked in a lower rate.

Add skyrocketing inflation and stagnating wages into the pot, and Americans owe trillions more than they did at the start of the pandemic. Higher housing costs means less set aside for savings, spending and emergencies.

It’s not just homeowners being squeezed, either: Rising housing costs push up rents, as well, meaning both renters and homeowners are feeling strapped.

Background: The number of cost-burdened homeowners had been on the decline.

The “30 percent” rule is a longtime piece of personal finance gospel that advises keeping all housing expenses, including rent or mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities, from cutting into more than 30 percent of your monthly income.

From 2015 to 2019, the percentage of U.S. homeowners who were considered financially-strapped dropped each year, from 29.4 percent in 2015 to 26.5 percent in 2019. But the pandemic has now started to erase those gains.

Los Angeles and New York mirror that national trend: In Los Angeles, where nearly half of homeowners are currently house poor, the number of cash-strapped owners dropped four percentage points between 2015 and 2019 but is now climbing again. The same goes for New York City, where in 2021, more than 45 percent of homeowners were house poor, up from 41.3 percent in 2019.

Miami, however, bucked the trend: The percentage of house-poor homeowners there was 44.6 percent in 2021, down two and a half points from 2019.

What’s Next: Federal interest rates might offer relief.

The Federal Reserve, fighting an uphill battle against inflation, has increased interest rates every month since March 2022. And while the Fed does not set mortgage rates, many home loans are tethered to their actions.

America’s central bank is now signaling that after nearly a year of consecutive rate increases, a break is on the horizon.

“That could signal some relief, at least for new homeowners,” said Collin Czarnecki, a researcher at Chamber of Commerce.