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84 84 INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION HUD, CENSUS BUREAU SURVEY PROVIDES INSIGHT ON HOUSING According to the new 2021 American Housing Survey released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau, in general, 2020 and 2021 were good for homeowners but presented challenges for many renters. Every two years, HUD and the Census Bureau produce the American Housing Survey (AHS), the most comprehensive analysis of the nation's housing inventory. e AHS covers a variety of important housing topics, including the composition and quality of the nation's housing stock; rents, mortgages, and other housing costs; and neighborhood conditions. e AHS is used by the public, policymakers, and professionals in many fields for research, planning, and decision- making, as well as to understand the current state of our nation's housing markets and how they have changed over time. e American Housing Survey is the largest regular national housing sample survey in the U.S. and tracks housing units over time. is can provide insight into how homes age and how the occupants of homes change. e 2021 American Housing Survey results released provide new insights into how consumer relationships with homes changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 when compared to the data from before the pandemic. Since the 2019 AHS survey was conducted, homeowners saw sharp increases in home values and were able to borrow at low interest rates. Renters, in contrast, experienced significant cost increases, such that the median renter now pays nearly the same as the median owner in total housing costs; however, owners have many more square feet per person, 800 square feet compared to 500 for renters. Homeowners were also able to move to a better home on average when they moved, while renters were just as likely to move to a better home as a worse home. Lower-income households that moved had lower rates of moving to higher-quality neighborhoods and housing units. 15 Largest Metropolitan Areas » New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York- New Jersey-Pennsylvania » Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California » Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana- Wisconsin » Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas » Houston-e Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas » Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.- Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia » Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware- Maryland » Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida » Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia » Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire » San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California » Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona » Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California » Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan » Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington 10 Additional Large Metropolitan Areas » Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland » Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama » Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada » Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin » Oklahoma City, Oklahoma » Richmond, Virginia » Rochester, New York » San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas » San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California » Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Self-reported homeowner home values increased dramatically between 2019 and 2021; homeowners increased their mortgage debt modestly and there was a sharp increase in refinancing. Homeowner-reported median home values increased 30% at the national level over a two-year period, from $230,000 in 2019 to $300,000 in 2021. Among households with at least one mortgage or loan, the national median total amount owed increased 11% from $134,695 in 2019 to $150,000 in 2021. ere was an increase in households that had a refinanced primary mortgage of 51% (from 12,574,008 refinances in 2019 to 18,991,554 in 2021). e median owner's interest rate on their loan declined from 4% in 2019 to 3.5% in 2021. Median housing costs for renters rose more than owners; the median renter now pays nearly the same as the median owner for total housing costs. Between 2019 and 2021, national median monthly total housing costs increased from $1,137 to $1,200 for owners, 5.5% over two years, and from $1,071 to $1,184 for renters (excludes renters with no cash rent), 10.6% over two years. Inability to pay rent payments similar in 2021 to pre-pandemic; mortgage payment was better. e data show that in 2021 relative to 2017, renters' inability to pay their rent was similar in the two years, about 7%, likely due to the CARES Act and other interventions, including federal unemployment insurance benefits and foreclosure and eviction moratoriums. In 2021, roughly 800,000 renters reported being threatened with eviction. Of those, about 21% received a court-ordered eviction notice. In 2021, the percentage of owners who missed or made late payments on their mortgage was less in 2021 than in 2017—2.5% in 2021 compared to 4% in 2017. Home renovations modestly increased during the pandemic. ere was a modest increase in homeowners making home improvements between 2019 and 2021—roughly 59%—relative to 2017 to 2019; an estimated 56%. Some 13.5 million homeowners made energy-efficient improvements between 2019 and 2021, also an increase relative to the 12 million homeowners who made energy- efficiency improvements between 2017 and 2019. e internet continues to increase as the