Two in Five U.S. Homeowners/Renters Struggle to Afford Payments

Seattle, WA, September 23, 2025-More than two in five (44.4%) U.S. homeowners and renters struggle to afford their regular rent or mortgage payments, 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.”

We asked the homeowners and renters who struggle which sacrifices or changes they make to afford housing. While the most commonly cited ones have relatively low stakes, like nixing restaurant meals or vacations, some people are making major family-related sacrifices, like deciding against or delaying having children or putting off a divorce. It’s rare for people to make such extreme sacrifices, but we’re shining a light on them because they speak to the lengths people go to make their housing payments. Please note that we report on the most common sacrifices Gen Zers and millennials are making to afford housing in this separate report. 

Just over one in 20 (6.4%) of the people who struggle to afford housing said they moved in with their parents, and 6.2% moved in with other family members. Roughly the same share, 5.7%, moved in with roommates to afford their monthly housing costs, and 2.8% moved in with their grown children. 

Americans are also making changes–or not making changes–to their romantic relationships to afford housing. One in 20 (5.3%) respondents who struggle with monthly payments said they moved in with a romantic partner to afford them. On the flip side, 2.8% postponed getting a divorce or separation, presumably because they were unable to afford housing on their own. Anecdotally, some divorced couples are sharing the former family home because they don’t want to sell it and lose their sub-3% mortgage rate, per the Wall Street Journal. 

Four percent of people who struggle with monthly payments have decided against or delayed having a child to afford housing costs, 4.4% gave up or reduced college savings for their children, and 3% enrolled their kids in a low-rated school. 

On the fur-child front, 4.6% of respondents said they had to give up their pet(s) to afford housing.