The average U.S. renter is older, has fewer options and is much more desperate for a big raise than before the pandemic, according to new Zillow data.
The housing affordability crunch has become massive in 2025, said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow. Mortgage rates doubled in 2022, now sitting 109% higher than they were in 2019.
“It’s not the $10 frappuccino,” Divounguy said Monday at the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ 59th annual conference in New Orleans, referring to a debunked reason millennials and Generation Zers aren’t able to easily afford houses.
The average U.S. renter is older, has fewer options and is much more desperate for a big raise than before the pandemic, according to new Zillow data.Source: Housing Affordability Crisis Keeping Renters Renting: Zillow Economist
