The majority of voters believe in the American dream but find it less attainable, a new poll found, thanks to sky-high housing prices, which have jumped more than 30 percent under the Biden-Harris administration.
The poll, conducted in July by the Rainey Center think tank and released through a report this week, found that although 54 percent of Americans believe in the American dream, 66 percent say it has fallen further out of reach. Respondents cited home ownership as a top source of pessimism—57 percent said owning a home has become less attainable over the last decade, compared with just 19 percent who said it's become more attainable.
Home prices have skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration, with the median price for an existing home jumping a whopping 17 percent in 2021. Housing affordability has since emerged as a top issue for young voters in November's election, polling shows.
"Our survey finds that voters have a generally pessimistic view of how the American Dream's attainability has shifted over the last 10 years," the Rainey Center's report states. "Most aspects are perceived as less attainable, with home ownership showing the most negative trend."
CNN's Jake Tapper raised the housing affordability issue during the June presidential debate, noting that "typical home prices have jumped more than 30 percent" since 2021. President Joe Biden blamed "corporate greed," language Vice President Kamala Harris has echoed since replacing him at the top of the ticket. Harris last month unveiled a plan to provide first-time home buyers with a $25,000 credit, subsidies that economists warn would push home prices higher.
For Rainey Center president Sarah Hunt, the poll's findings show that the "right" economic policies can restore "faith in our institutions."
"Skyrocketing mortgage prices, crippling tax rates, and surging inflation have led to an affordability crisis fueling this toxic national pessimism," Hunt said in a statement. "But the right policies and leadership will alleviate the economic burdens families are suffering from and restore the public's faith in our institutions and the American dream."
Inflation peaked under the Biden-Harris administration, reaching 9.1 percent in June 2022, a four-decade high. Mortgage rates also spiked that year, prompting some young Americans to give up on buying a home.
"We have given up on homeownership," Jeremy Andersson, a millennial voter who hoped to buy a house, told CNN in July. "We felt the societal pressure to buy a house because that’s the American Dream, right? Have a family and buy a house. … We can't find anything affordable for a family of four."
The Rainey Center poll found that young people are "most likely to agree" that the American dream is "out of reach," while a vast majority of older Americans, 68 percent, believe that "America is a place people can expect a fair shake."