Report

Under Pressure: Financial Stress and Housing Payments

Abstract: This report uses the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s July 2025 LIFE Survey to study the recent experiences of both homeowners and renters, examining their ability to make housing payments, financial shocks they have experienced, and the strategies and tools they employ to make ends meet. Responses from the July 2025 edition of the LIFE Survey reveal that large proportions of both homeowners and renters faced financial disruptions such as income loss, job separations, and increases in household costs, including rent, property taxes, and insurance. Renters and FHA loan holders were particularly likely to struggle with making their housing and other debt payments in the year before the survey, with payment difficulties occurring at nearly three times the rate of conventional mortgage borrowers (those with mortgages not insured through programs such as the FHA or VA). We also find that nearly 20 percent of all homeowners surveyed and 35 percent of those with FHA loans find themselves unable to afford critical maintenance on their homes. Finally, we find that households report a variety of strategies to cope with financial difficulties, with cutting discretionary spending being the most common strategy, although renters and FHA borrowers were more likely than other respondents to report more borrowing, relying on friends and family, and paying down their debts more slowly or skipping them altogether

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Part of Series: Consumer Finance Institute Research Briefs and Special Reports

Publication Date: 2025-09-30

Pages: 19