Nearly 90 percent of American registered voters believe the cost of housing has moved in the wrong direction, according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, even as rent prices have fallen over the past year from their record highs and mortgage rates have ticked down.
The Wall Street Journal's poll, which was conducted from August 24-30 and surveyed 1,500 registered voters, including 600 Republican primary voters, illustrates President Joe Biden and his administration's struggles in reassuring Americans about the state of the economy, despite latest data giving some economists and policy-makers confidence that the country may escape a recession.
The economy remains the top area of focus for voters, with 38 percent telling pollsters that it is the most important issue when thinking about who they will vote for in the 2024 presidential polls.
In the United States, typical rent is at about $2,000, which is a little over 3 percent higher than a year ago, but way below the 16 percent jump it hit in February 2022, data from Zillow shows. Year-over-year rent growth has reverted back to pre-pandemic levels, the real estate platform says.
Meanwhile, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, the most common loan term, ticked down slightly last week to 7.12 percent. Although it was still way higher than it was in January 2021, for example, when it was under 3 percent.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that she was feeling good that the country's fight against record inflation will be achieved without too much damage to the economy and the job market, Bloomberg reported.
The unemployment rate stands at 3.8 percent as of August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost back to pre-pandemic levels, even as the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates to battle soaring levels of inflation.
Yet, the August Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) released on Monday revealed that "households' perceptions about their current financial situations and expectations for the future also deteriorated," according to the Federal Reserve of New York analysis, adding to data points showing how anxious Americans are about their economic prospects.
Biden has made progress with some sections of the electorate, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Referring to the poll, two-thirds of Democratic-party affiliated voters say the economy is in excellent or good condition, which is 9 percent higher compared to December. Independents who hold favorable views of the economy also jumped 9 percent to 36 percent, with only 8 percent of Republicans expressing similar sentiments.
But a significant chunk of voters ahead of the 2024 election are reluctant to credit Biden for his handling of the economy, with nearly 60 percent disapproving of the job he is doing on that front, while 53 percent disapprove of the way he has managed inflation thus far.
Voters, 74 percent of them, told The Wall Street Journal pollsters that inflation has moved in the wrong direction, though they were split by 45 percent to 44 percent on whether the job market had moved in the right or wrong direction. Meanwhile, 54 percent of those polled said their personal financial situation had moved in the wrong direction, with 38 percent experiencing the opposite.
Overall, 40 percent of voters said the U.S. economy has got better or stayed the same over the last two years while 58 percent said it got worse, according to the poll. When asked how they would rate the strength of the U.S. economy, 63 percent answered not so good or poor, with 36 percent saying excellent or good.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Omar Mohammed is a Newsweek reporter based in the Greater Boston area. His focus is reporting on the Economy and ... Read more
