Young voters are struggling to afford housing, don’t expect politicians to help

ALLENTOWN, Pa – Mortgage rates are climbing very much, home prices continue to gain and inflation in the economy is affecting consumers, leading housing affordability to consider a lot in both renters and potential homebuyers.

In Pennsylvania – a swing state where House races can help decide the control of the next US Congress – renting or owning a house is lower than the national average, but the share of the income needed to do either has also risen along with the rest of the country. In 2019, it takes 20% of the median income to rent a home and 18% to own one. Today it is 22% and 24%, according to Cotality.

“For people who are trying to get an apartment, people who are moving from an apartment to a starter home, a starter home to a bigger house, each of these groups reports that there are challenges now, and there are considerations in the political space that are very important,” said Lehigh University political science professor Christopher Borick.

Americans, especially renters, feel financially stretched by the cost of housing, according to the new CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey, released October 5. found that one in five Americans who rent or have a mortgage spend at least half of their pre-tax income on housing, while 49% spend between 25% and 49%. Standard guidelines from banks and lenders say consumers should spend 28% to 30% of their income on housing.

The cost of housing is now the top political issue — even higher than the cost of food or protecting democracy — among U.S. voters ages 18 to 34, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic survey.

In the midterm elections, the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage has jumped more than 7.5%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It reached 5.99% the day before the war with Iran started. For buyers of homes worth about $450,000 on average, that means an increase of about $300 in monthly payments since the beginning of this year.

House prices, while cooling from the big gains in the first years of the Covid pandemic, still rose by 1.8% in August last year, according to the latest reading from Cotality. House prices are up almost 60% since the start of the pandemic. Combined with higher mortgage rates, potential buyers are on the rise. Existing home sales in August fell from a year earlier, with the annual rate below 4 million.

“This figure of 4 million is about as low as we can go. It tells us that there is an extreme affordability problem,” said Norm Miller, a real estate economist and professor emeritus at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business.

The share of median income needed to rent or buy a home has increased nationwide, with homeownership seeing the biggest jump. In 2019, it will take a national average of 24% of median income to rent and 21% to own, according to Cotality. Today, it takes 26% of the median income to rent and 28% to own. For some markets, especially metropolitan areas on both coasts, the figure is even higher.

A separate report from the Apartment Directory found 52% of the state’s renters are in debt, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This increased dramatically from 2019 to 2022, as rental prices rose sharply in the first years of the pandemic. More than 22 million households in the US are rent-burdened, a new record.

Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania 7^Th The congressional district, where 19% of residents are young, is one of the most competitive races in the country. It is ranked 8th^Th nationally among the House races where young voters are most likely to influence midterm elections, according to the Tufts University CIRCLE Youth Electoral Significance Index.

In the district, a household needs $67,481 a year to rent a two-room apartment without spending more than 30% of its income on housing. The ideal “housing wage” is $32.44 an hour, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s latest congressional district profile.

“We’ve seen a change in the landscape in terms of housing costs, access to the rental market, which has really leveraged some of the other concerns that we’ve seen in the area of ​​affordability in a pretty strong way,” Borick said. “So when you talk to voters and residents in the area, and you ask them about the things that are causing them concern right now, housing is definitely near the top of the list.”

Jessica Heller, 33, is a newlywed. He and his wife rented from a friend in Allentown at a lower rate. Even with a six-figure salary, he said he doesn’t expect to own a home in the near future.

“Unless I put down $50,000 — but that’s where you get the money — your mortgage is still going to be like 2, 3, 4 thousand a month,” Heller said. “And in Allentown, some of the most rundown houses are still selling for $400,000. It’s like we can’t get like a starter home and invest into it.”

Most renters want to own a home, but few expect to, as nearly three in four Americans say buying a home has become more difficult in the past five years, according to CNBC and SurveyMonkey findings. The results also show nearly one in four renters never plan to buy a home, with down payments and limited income the top barriers.

Incumbent Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, Republican, against Democrat Bob Brooks. Mackenzie expressed support for affordable housing tax credits passed in the 2025 budget bill. In January, he supported the American Housing Affordable Act, which would create a tax credit for homebuyers in their primary residences. The bill has yet to see a vote.

“Housing affordability is one of the top concerns for families in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos. After years of rising housing costs, first-time homebuyers are getting some relief,” Mackenzie wrote in a release.

Brooks also made housing affordability a top priority.

“We need to build more starter homes, crack down the corporate landlords and rent gouging, and expand programs that help first-time homebuyers get their start. And yes, sometimes cut the rules and red tape that make it difficult and more expensive to build a house,” he said on the website.

In that district, 54% of renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent, according to the U.S. Census. Home prices in Allentown are up nearly 4% compared to a year ago, according to Zillow. Allentown, in particular, has seen a big increase in rent and home prices, as former residents of New York City and Philadelphia have moved there seeking, ironically, more affordable housing.

“If you look at a market like metro Allentown, it takes almost 60% of the average household income to rent to consider homeownership for the median home in that particular market, and that’s a little bit above the national average,” Miller said.

Blake Fontaine, 26, still lives at home with his mother in Easton. Fontaine said he earned a six-figure salary at ADP, one of the area’s larger employers. He had saved some money and would like to move out, he said, but he could not stomach the cost.

“When I started looking at the prices of houses, it completely made me backtrack,” said Fontaine, who said he would not vote in the next election. “It’s like I’m going to pay $500,000 for the same thing my mother paid $100,000 for. It doesn’t make sense.”

In another toss-up district, Pennsylvania 10^ThRepublican incumbent Scott Perry faces Democrat Janelle Stelson. Perry was the only member of Congress from Pennsylvania to vote against the bipartisan affordable housing bill, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, signed into law in July.

“For more than 50 years, the federal government has wasted money on housing – which has led to the current housing crisis,” Perry wrote in a social media post. “The more money you spend, the more expensive it is.”

Rival Stelson has a housing affordability plan that includes expanding small-dollar home loans and cutting home construction regulations.

“I will vote to cancel the tariff [Pennsylvania] Congressman Scott Perry supports the wood and drywall that drives up the cost of every home we build,” Stelson said at a campaign event in front of a new apartment complex in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has a large number of municipalities, increasing local zoning complaints from national builders and, as Lehigh University’s Borick points out, various municipal regulations.

“I don’t necessarily know in the short term, or even in the short term, that you’re going to see a change that’s going to affect consumer sentiment around this affordability,” he said.