But there are bright spots emerging on the affordability horizon, which could make it easier for young Americans to afford housing in the near future.
Seven in 10 Gen Z and millennial renters struggle to afford their regular housing payments, as do 41% of homeowners in that age group, according to a recent Redfin survey. We consider survey respondents to struggle with housing payments if they selected “I struggle greatly to afford them,” “I regularly struggle, but sometimes okay,” or “I sometimes struggle, but generally okay.”
Baby boomers and Gen Xers are less likely to struggle, but 52% of baby boomer renters and over two-thirds of Gen X renters report having a hard time making their regular housing payments.
The survey results in this report are from a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in May 2025, fielded to more than 4,000 U.S. homeowners and renters. This report focuses on the nearly 2,000 respondents who said they struggle to afford housing, broken down by generation and whether they own or rent. The results for this combined group of survey respondents have a credibility interval of +/- 2.7 percentage points. The survey asked the respondents who said they struggle (greatly, regularly, or sometimes) the following question: Which of the following, if any, changes or sacrifices did you make in the past year to afford your monthly housing costs, including mortgage or rent, insurance, parking, heating/cooling/electricity or HOA dues? Respondents could select all that apply from a list of sacrifices/changes, which are in the table below.
My grandparents had to pawn their wedding rings every month to make rent, then they would redeem their rings when grandpa got paid. This cycle repeated over and over until they finally saved enough to get over that hump. I wish everyone would quit complaining. This is nothing new. Just work hard, spend below your means, and the math will eventually work out for you. It’s not so tough.
Sadly, young Americans have been conned into believing they “deserve” free everything. Free tattoos, piercings and fingernails next. Socialism is great until you run out of OPM!
This is what happens when you graduate college with useless degrees. If you went to a trade school and are a plumber, electrician, welder, etc. you have no problem.