The rise of the roommate

[marmar]

The rise of the roommate: "I’m probably saving $300 per month"
What do you do if you can no longer afford — or don’t want to pay — high rent prices? You get creative

By Zina Kumok
Published January 2, 2025 5:30AM (EST)


(Salon) Even as inflation has cooled, ripple effects continue to cast a long shadow. Housing prices are approximately 47% higher in 2024 compared to 2020.

And those cost increases are not just for buyers. Renters have also seen a huge jump, about a 33% spike since the pandemic, with 49 out of 50 major metro areas seeing an uptick in rental costs.

So what do you do if you can no longer afford — or don’t want to pay — high rent? You get creative. And for many, that means getting a roommate — even for homeowners or others used to living alone.

....(snip)....

Most of us have roommates while we’re in college and often keep them for the first few years after graduating. However, at some point, living on your own becomes a milestone, just like getting married or having kids.

But that’s becoming harder and harder. Research from SpareRoom has found a 167% increase in homeowners looking for roommates between January 2021 and January 2024. Also, about 8.7% of single young adults (between ages 18 and 29) had roommates — compared to 7.4% in 1990. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/02/the-rise-of-the/

[Magoo48]

1. Inflation is too kind a word for the royal fucking we have received in the past number of years.

[SheilaAnn]

2. "Affordable Housing"

"Affordable Housing" is a joke. None of it is "affordable" to the average working person let alone the homeless. Such a shame.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. It used to be that young people

commonly took on roommates when they first lived on their own. Not so much anymore.