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A record number of Americans can't afford rent

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Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#11

Post by prasadjoglekar »

foooorsyth wrote: post #6
blackt0wer wrote: post #4

It is worth pointing out that those who cannot afford rent often will not subsidize their situation by renting out extra space and taking on roommates, but instead suffer in isolation living alone. This false premise that "living alone" is some sort of social achievement needs to end.

Is there any evidence that more people are attempting to live alone now than in the past (in the US)? Genuine question -- don't know the trend national trend.

Avg HH size in the US https://www.statista.com/statistics/183648/average-size-of-h...

Mean is a bit of a misleading number here since the distribution really is discrete - and there are a lot more 1 and 2 person homes today than before, which is contributing to the lower average.

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#12

Post by stetrain »

blackt0wer wrote: post #4

It is worth pointing out that those who cannot afford rent often will not subsidize their situation by renting out extra space and taking on roommates, but instead suffer in isolation living alone. This false premise that "living alone" is some sort of social achievement needs to end.

I have definitely run into condo and townhouse rentals where the HOA or landlord have rules against unrelated residents living in the same unit.

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#13

Post by [deleted] »

2024throwaway wrote: post #7
blackt0wer wrote: post #4

It is worth pointing out that those who cannot afford rent often will not subsidize their situation by renting out extra space and taking on roommates, but instead suffer in isolation living alone. This false premise that "living alone" is some sort of social achievement needs to end.

You're assuming these people have "extra space" to rent out to begin with. Many/most do not.

[deleted]

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#14

Post by causi »

tmnvix wrote: post #5

A useful starting point in dealing with this (and the housing crisis in general) would be to determine what proportion of homes are not being used as a primary residence. I suspect it has risen dramatically over the past couple of decades. If it turns out that that is the case, the next step would be to find out why.

There's something very gross about owning a home you don't live it.

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#15

Post by MattGaiser »

foooorsyth wrote: post #6
blackt0wer wrote: post #4

It is worth pointing out that those who cannot afford rent often will not subsidize their situation by renting out extra space and taking on roommates, but instead suffer in isolation living alone. This false premise that "living alone" is some sort of social achievement needs to end.

Is there any evidence that more people are attempting to live alone now than in the past (in the US)? Genuine question -- don't know the trend national trend.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/06/more-than-a-q...

US census has a publication on how single-person households are skyrocketing.

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#16

Post by nox101 »

In LA there are tons of "co-living" spaces where they're basically renting out bedrooms for $2500-$4000 a month! It's the similar to living with roommates except each roommate has their own lease and you have no choice in who becomes your roommate.

I don't know any actual stats, only that in searching for an apartment they came up a lot in searches and I assumed it was partly to make more money (a 3br apartment with 3 people paying $3k each is $9k vs renting the whole apartment for $6k-7k)

But, also, rent in general is too damn high and it's lowers the price "for some definition of lower".

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#17

Post by ejb999 »

causi wrote: post #14
tmnvix wrote: post #5

A useful starting point in dealing with this (and the housing crisis in general) would be to determine what proportion of homes are not being used as a primary residence. I suspect it has risen dramatically over the past couple of decades. If it turns out that that is the case, the next step would be to find out why.

There's something very gross about owning a home you don't live it.

I get what you are saying, but lots of people can only rent - or only want to rent - so somebody needs to own those houses.

I do agree, there is really something weird about owning 'extra' houses that you may only use a few weeks a year.

Re: A record number of Americans can't afford rent

#20

Post by cycrutchfield »

causi wrote: post #14
tmnvix wrote: post #5

A useful starting point in dealing with this (and the housing crisis in general) would be to determine what proportion of homes are not being used as a primary residence. I suspect it has risen dramatically over the past couple of decades. If it turns out that that is the case, the next step would be to find out why.

There's something very gross about owning a home you don't live it.

OK, I’ll bite: why should you care about what other people own?
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