Even though 71% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents own their home, a substantial proportion, 29%, of people in the region rent their residence.
The majority of people who rent doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in the area. 57% of renters do not think they will be able to afford a home in their community including 30% who say it is not very likely and 27% who think it is not likely at all.
Renters living in Greene and Putnam Counties are the most optimistic about future homeownership. Six in ten residents think they will own their home someday. Renters in Orange County are divided. 49% think they will eventually own a home while 51% believe the possibility of owning a home in the community is remote.
A majority of renters living in the other four counties believes homeownership is out of reach. This sentiment is most strongly held in Dutchess and Ulster Counties where about two in three renters believe the possibility of ever becoming a homeowner in the Mid-Hudson Valley is unlikely.
Although men are just as likely as women to rent a home, there are some considerable differences in opinion between the sexes when it comes to future homeownership. Overall, a slim majority of men who rent believes the prospect of affording a home is good. In contrast, two-thirds of women who rent think the possibility of owning a home is not good.
Opinions also differ by race and ethnicity. African Americans and Latino residents who rent their home are considerably more optimistic about the possibility of homeownership than white renters. 51% of African American renters and 56% of Latino renters think they will be able to afford a home someday compared with just 39% of white renters. It should be noted, however, that the proportion of white renters is markedly lower than the proportion of African Americans and Latinos who rent their homes.
Single parents who rent are somewhat less optimistic about this matter than other renters living in households with children. By a 61% to 39% margin, renters who are single parents think the possibility of buying a home in the future is unlikely. In contrast, renters with children are evenly divided.
Household income is a significant factor. 71% of renters with low income doubt they will ever own a home. This compares with just 49% of renters with household incomes of more than $30,000 but less than $75,000, and 36% of residents earning $75,000 or more who do not think it is likely they will ever be homeowners.
