- Roughly half of surveyed renters think Kamala Harris would be the best choice to make housing more affordable, while about one-third think Donald Trump would be best. Renters skew Democratic because many of them are young and live in cities.
- The president can’t solve the housing affordability crisis on their own; it will take a coordinated effort by federal and local governments, Redfin’s chief economist explains.
Nearly half (48.4%) of U.S. renters think Kamala Harris would be best for making housing more affordable, while nearly one-third (31.2%) think Donald Trump would be best. About one of every five renters (18.7%) aren’t sure who would be best.
That’s according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in September 2024. The survey was fielded to 1,802 people aged 18-65. This report focuses on the 894 renter respondents who answered the following question: “Regardless of who you plan on voting for in the US presidential election, which candidate do you think will be the best for making housing more affordable?”
Renters skew Democratic because many of them are young people who live in cities, where the cost of living is higher and people are more likely to rely on the government for help, explained Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. More than two of every five (43.6%) renters who responded to the survey plan to vote for Kamala Harris in the November election, while 28% plan to vote for Donald Trump, 12.3% don’t plan on voting and 11.7% are undecided. The remainder of renter respondents preferred not to answer (3.6%) or plan to vote for another candidate (0.8%).
“While the president has some tools to combat the housing affordability crisis, they can’t fix it on their own,” Fairweather said. “It’s going to take a coordinated effort by the federal government and local governments over the course of many years, focused on incentivizing more homebuilding to ease a housing shortage that has been brewing since the Great Recession.”
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It’s worth noting that while renters only make up about one-third (34.4%) of U.S. households, that share has been ticking up as the cost of homeownership has soared. America’s renter population is growing three times faster than its homeowner population, a separate Redfin report found.
