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significant portion of Americans earning under $50,000 struggle to pay their housing costs, with some making extreme sacrifices to make ends meet. According to a Redfin survey, 74% of respondents in this income bracket experience difficulties with their housing expenses, and 25% have skipped meals to afford them. Other common sacrifices include eating out less often (43%), taking fewer vacations or canceling them altogether (36%), borrowing money from friends or family (25%), selling personal belongings (23%), and delaying or skipping medical treatments (20%).

    The root cause of this struggle is the mismatch between stagnant wages and surging housing costs. While wages have increased over the past five years, they haven't kept pace with rising rental and home-sale prices. Redfin data shows that U.S. rental costs are still 20% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and median housing prices have risen more than 40%. As a result, homeownership is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many people, particularly those earning under $50,000.

    Redfin's analysis reveals that homebuyers need to earn at least $76,995 per year to afford the median-priced starter home, which is around $250,000. In October, home prices reached a median of $435,051, up 5.2% from last year. This trend suggests that high housing costs are pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans, forcing them to make difficult choices between paying their rent or mortgage and covering other essential expenses.