In the United States, a growing housing crisis has been significantly exacerbated in recent years. This has largely occurred following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Mortgage rates have skyrocketed and the cost of living with it as inflation has crushed the average American. In many regions of the country, for individuals making near the median national income of about $70,000 annually, home ownership is nearly impossible. In many states, the crisis is worse than others. The median home price in April 2022 was $450,000- this price may have most certainly increased and may stand higher in 2024. In a report by Forbes, the states with the highest housing costs were Hawaii, California, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Alaska, Connecticut, Virginia and Wyoming. Most of these states listed as carrying the top-15 most expensive housing prices on average are located along the American coast, where most of the national population is centered. It is important to remember that these costs are not constant, and it is very likely that in some regions of these states costs are much more manageable in comparison to others.
In Hawaii, a housing crisis has escalated as four out of every five Hawaiians can not seem to afford to purchase a home. This is sadly unsurprising – Hawaii is an extremely expensive place to live, largely due to the fact that it is an island state located far away from many other regions and food and transportation costs are significantly higher than in other areas.
Many young people are feeling the effects of these housing prices more than other people who are already established and have owned houses (buying them at much lower costs). Many members of Generation Z are disillusioned with the state of affairs in America, and it is not hard to understand why. With the cost of living and housing costs soaring, the future looks bleak.
