Half of my job is sort of hidden.
As director of Housing Counseling at Consolidated Credit, most of my day is focused on helping people afford a new home. For example, we offer a First-Time Homebuyer Program, and our one-on-one counseling involves helping homebuyers get approved for a mortgage.
But less well known is how we help existing homeowners. And from the latest research, that will become much more important in 2026.
A new survey conducted by polling firm Atomik Research shows “more than half of U.S. homeowners say the cost of homeownership is more than anticipated.” That has led them to cut “essential and discretionary spending to keep pace.”
Specifically, these homeowners – 59% who have owned their home for a decade or more – are making the following adjustments…
- Taking fewer vacations: 38%
- Putting less into retirement: 22%
- Holding off on starting a family: 7%
That last one really tugs at my heart, and yours, too, I imagine. But another concerning result is that 17% of the surveyed homeowners are “purchasing more on credit.” Homeownership is supposed to help people financially, not cause them to run up their credit card bills.
Consider that the average mortgage rate today is around 6% or a little less, while the average credit card interest rate is well above 20%. A steep credit card balance is one of the fastest ways to drain your savings.
Consolidated Credit offers Foreclosure Prevention Counseling, but more needs to be done to help existing homeowners. Much of the media attention and government debate about “affordability” has focused on new homes. Yet there’s one last disturbing result from that research I mentioned earlier: Just over a fifth of homeowners say they’re “staying in their starter home longer than intended.”
That means homes are turning over as quickly. Which means less supply. Which means higher prices. So this is a case where helping existing homeowners helps new homeowners, too.
