Why Homeowners And Renters Are Struggling In The U.S. | CNBC Marathon

With increasingly high rental prices, insurance companies dropping coverage, and overly restrictive Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Americans face a multitude of challenges on the path to homeownership. CNBC Marathon explores how the rise of HOAs, the climate crisis, and limited housing supply affect living in the U.S.

More than 80% of newly-built single-family homes sold in 2022 belonged to an HOA, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. HOAs tout themselves as a value-add to homeowners, specifically when it comes to maintaining high property value, but not everyone is pleased with HOAs. Fifty-seven percent of homeowners surveyed said they disliked living in an HOA with more than 3 in 10 homeowners saying they feel like the HOA has too much power.

Many homeowners in the U.S. are losing their home insurance policies. Major insurers like State Farm and Allstate are no longer offering new policies in California. State Farm attributes this to increased wildfire risk, inflation and other challenges in the region. Louisianan and Floridian homeowners are facing similar issues due to flood risk.

RealPage software is used to set rental prices on 4.5 million housing units in the U.S. A series of lawsuits allege that a group of landlords are sharing sensitive data with RealPage, which then artificially inflates rents. The complaints surface as housing supply in the U.S. lags behind demand. Some of the defendant landlords report high occupancy within their buildings, alongside strong jobs growth in their operating regions and slow home construction.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:51 How Homeowners Associations Took Over American Neighborhoods (Published October 2023)
14:38 Why Americans Are Suddenly Losing Their Home Insurance (Published February 2024)
27:45 Why Renters Are Taking Landlords To Court In The U.S. (Published February 2024)

Produced by: Charlotte Morabito, Lindsey Jacobson, Carlos Waters
Additonal Camera by: Charlotte Morabito, Juhohn Lee, Mark Licea
Additional Color Correction: Mark Licea
Editorial Support: Juhohn Lee, Jack Hillyer
Animation: Christina Locopo, Jason Reginato, Andrea Schmitz
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson
Additional Editing: Emily Rabbideau
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Jewel Inostroza, Jessica Navas, Darlene Tucker, RealPage
Additional Sources: State Farm, U.S. News & World Report, Insurance Information Institute, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20for20 Multifamily Consulting, AvalonBay Communities, Bozzuto, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Camden Property Trust, CourtListener, U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee, Equity Residential, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, National Multifamily Housing Council, New York Stock Exchange, Stargate Partners, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Redfin, Reuters

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Why Homeowners And Renters Are Struggling In The U.S. | CNBC Marathon

[tammystut]

So many people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.

[randalanderson]

I had my HOA contacting me about a weed while I was deployed to Iraq, I brought that up and they told me that wasn’t their problem. They managed to fine till I got home. I was able to resolve it after I ran into the HOA President at the mailbox, I helped him see the light. They dropped the issue after that and my attorney filed a lawsuit against all the HOA members for violations for the Service Member Civil Relief Act. I will never live in an HOA again.

[vomitron]

HOA wants to fine for not trimming my hedges on time, but the moment I ask HOA Karen how they could afford their new Boat, suddenly I'm crossing a line.

[KC-bzeb]

This is why, I made sure my first home purchase was no where close to under HOA. I heard too many horror stories due to HOA. They are like small mobsters having control over your home.

[tranger]

I’m glad I own my home. Old Craftsman built in 1945 fully remodeled. I paid 898 dollars in taxes and we have no HOA. I can bbq and drink beer on my font lawn in my boxers on a Saturday morning. Nobody is going to tell me squat.

That’s what homeownership is all about. I don’t get this fancy house complexity these days.

[steviecoleman]

I would rather live in the Hood, ghetto before I live in an HOA..

[NoteAndroid]

I live on both sides of the Atlantic continents. I'd received 2 HOA warnings of grass higher than "5" inches in the heat of the summers during 12 years of house ownership. I maintained calm, collected, and did not even complaint. I quietly waited until my house price came to the highest market price, a quick sold got rid of that Florida HOA/house. No matter how much I loved and missed that house, it's the HOA that kept me running away from their corruption.

[tabithan]

Do not buy a home in a community that charges HOA fees.

[JJSeattle]

I rented an apartment in Redmond WA (home of Microsoft), for 15 years straight $700 to $850 a month, been going up $200 a month every year for 10+ years, same junk, old apartment is now $2, 500...

[Seanpfree]

In an HOA, you do not own the home. You're just allowed to live there IF you pay the mortgage and the monthly randsom.

[easyrider]

Had a home builder build and sell hundreds of houses advertising that they were non-HOA. When they were down to the last lot they sub-divided the last lot into a thousand tiny lots and voted the neighborhood into a HOA they controlled. They foreclosed on 25% of the homes and resold them within 2 years. They're trying to get the others 75% to this day.

HOAs are never good.

[franknewman]

A house is more of a liability than an asset

[mylesgray]

My biggest issue with HOA’s is they are a for profit business and they get more and more expensive as time goes on. $800 a month is the typical fee in Bellevue Washington where I was looking.

[useridcn]

HOA is so hard to avoid now. If you really need to buy a house but you filter out all the properties that have HOA, you have not much left. So i only consider HOA that seems to only charge the basics (something like trash and sewer).

[ljz]

If I was sold a house by a realtor who didn't disclose a pre-existing lean on the home I'd have to inherit, I'm suing them for that dollar amount to get that settled

[HeroesS]

Buying a house only for someone to tell you what to do. That’s like living in a rental.if I feel like having 20 cars on my property. I should be able to do that without problems. 😂😂😂😂

[NightTrainIndustries]

I was able to single handedly dissolve my HOA. It takes a little effort, but I convinced everyone that there is no point to us having an HOA. We have nothing. We have no pool, no park, just a common area the county owns. We were just paying 20 dollars a month to a property managing firm for the strip out by the road. Unfortunately, a few years later we do have some bad looking houses. Some people are just lazy.

[Leslie-te]

PROPERTY TAX AND HOME OWNERS INSURANCE ARE OUT OF CONTROL!!!

[JJ-jnei]

The title wasn’t cleared. They need to go after the broker and the title company.

[kiefdemon]

My mom's HOA board member had a family member that own a towing company. When that guy took over the board, parking became an issue. Then all of sudden after decades of no parking issue, people started getting towed. 7 to 11 cars a night, every night. it was insane. It stopped the minute that person was kicked off the board.