BURSTSatisfaction with the availability of “good, affordable housing” has dropped in some of the world’s wealthiest economies, a new survey from Gallup found.
According to the survey, people living in countries associated with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) have become increasingly dissatisfied with housing options.
OCED is a group of 38 high-income, market-based economies, Gallup said.
After the global financial crisis of 2008, wealthier economies were more satisfied with housing than the rest of the world, but that changed in 2021, the survey found.
In 2024, 43 percent across OCED countries were satisfied with the availability of good, affordable housing nearby, compared to 50 percent across the rest of the world.
That figure from respondents in OCED countries is higher than in 2022 and 2023, but still low compared to years past. In 2009 and 2010, more than 50 percent in OCED countries were satisfied with housing options, while satisfaction in non-OCED countries lagged.
In 2019, non-OCED countries surpassed OCED countries in terms of satisfaction for affordable housing in local areas.
Turkey, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands and Australia recorded their lowest satisfaction figures in 2024 compared to long-term averages in the countries, Gallup noted.
Just one OCED country, Estonia, saw satisfaction last year that was double-digit percentage points higher than its average.
The Gallup survey follows a U.S.-based report from Zillow that found that in more than 230 cities across the country, $1 million is only enough for a starter home, a massive jump in home prices from just a few years ago.
While most of the wealthy countries are reporting lower satisfaction in housing availability, most people aren’t struggling to afford adequate housing, Gallup noted.
Last year, just 11 percent of adults in OCED countries said they didn’t have enough money to provide adequate housing over the past 12 months compared to 38 percent in non-OCED countries.
The difference in satisfaction levels likely stems from people’s expectations toward housing, Gallup said.
“In higher-income countries, people may feel dissatisfied not necessarily because they’re homeless or on the brink, but because they perceive a decline in housing relative to what they believe should be available — such as affordable rent, homeownership or choice — even if shelter is technically secure for most,” the anaysis read. “Meanwhile, in lower-income countries, satisfaction may be buoyed by gradual improvements in access to basic housing, despite greater material hardship overall.”
The Gallup survey was conducted between April and November 2024 among roughly 1,000 adults living in each OCED country. It has a margin of error that ranges from 3.4 percent to 4.9 percent.