- Rent and housing prices in America's biggest cities are unaffordable for many residents.
- It can take up to 10 years to save for a median-priced home in some places which can be hard to do when the median US rent is $1,700.
- People are living in basements , turning vans into homes, and commuting hours to avoid rising housing costs.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
ADVERTISEMENT
Rents in cities across the US are more expensive than ever before. Here are 5 drastic measures people are taking to avoid rising housing costs.
The Washington Post/Getty Images
West Coast residents are living in cars because they can't afford housing.
Rent in America's biggest cities is sky-high.
The current median US rent is $1,700 nearly triple the $588 cost of rent in the 1960s , adjusted for inflation.
Rent is particularly a problem for the aspiring homeowner , who needs to spend four to 10 years saving enough cash for a 20% down payment on a median-priced home in one of the 25 largest US cities, according to a recent SmartAsset study . That's assuming they're a median earner saving 20% of their annual income for the down payment.
ADVERTISEMENT
Even those who can afford to buy a house may not be able to get much for their money in a place like New York or San Francisco , where the median home value is $1.3 million.
From insufferable commutes to living in vehicles, here are the drastic measures Americans are taking due to a lack of affordable housing.
See Also:
- 2019 is the final class of millennial college graduates. Next stop: The Great American Affordability Crisis.
- Before he was a billionaire, WeWork CEO Adam Neumann was broke. Here's the NYC building where he and his wife lived in a tiny apartment before he built a $47 billion company
- 7 ways millennials are changing marriage, from signing prenups to staying together longer than past generations
ADVERTISEMENT
SEE ALSO: Millennials are choosing to face 2-hour commutes instead of paying exorbitant rates to live in cities, and it's resurrecting a near-dead part of the suburbs
DON'T MISS: Rent in cities like NYC and San Francisco is so expensive that it's pricing people out of the real-estate market, and some of them are turning to houseboats instead
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
ADVERTISEMENT