Roughly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say the U.S. is in a housing crisis, and 41% would consider crossing party lines for a candidate with a strong housing plan.
ST. LOUIS, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) don't think the 2026 midterm elections will have a positive impact on the housing market, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a nationwide discount real estate broker where sellers can compare full-service, low-commission real estate agents near them and save money on their next sale.
About 70% of Americans say housing costs are a bigger issue in this election than in 2024, and 78% want the next Congress to make housing affordability a priority.
Among Americans who plan to vote, 85% say housing affordability is at least somewhat important when choosing candidates, yet 64% of Americans don't know where their congressional candidates stand on housing.
Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say President Trump's policies have made the housing market worse, including 33% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats. Nearly half (48%) blame the Trump administration for the housing affordability crisis, compared with 23% who blame the Biden administration.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) feel angry about housing costs, rising to 78% of non-homeowners. More than half (58%) couldn't afford to buy a home today, including 47% of current homeowners and 86% of non-homeowners.
Sixty percent of Americans say housing costs have kept them from reaching financial goals such as saving for emergencies (29%) or retirement (25%), and 54% feel financially worse off than they did two years ago. In the past year, 27% of respondents have cut back on groceries and 14% have skipped or delayed medical care because of housing costs.
Reducing property taxes (60%) is the most popular policy for improving local housing affordability, followed by reducing home insurance costs (53%) and lowering mortgage rates (53%). About 38% support lowering closing costs and real estate commissions, while only 21% back building more high-density housing in their area.
About 71% of Americans aren't aware of the bipartisan housing bill that became law in July, which will bar the largest investors from buying more single-family homes starting Jan. 7, 2027. That's notable because 61% of respondents want large corporations restricted from buying homes, 60% want the same for foreign investors, and 35% want limits on companies that buy houses for cash.
Data center development and AI are just as likely as home prices (39% each) to be an important midterm issue for Americans who plan to vote. Inflation and cost of living remains the top voting issue (77%).
Read the full report: https://listwithclever.com/research/housing-crisis-midterms-2026
About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate allows sellers to compare top-rated discount real estate brokers and low-commission realtors in their local area. Clever's content reaches over 12 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating across more than 4,600 customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached over $17.5 billion in real estate sold, matched over 278,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $260 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.
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SOURCE Clever Real Estate
