US president Donald Trump previously accused the Democrats of an “affordability hoax”, yet this week saw vice president JD Vance use the phrase to claim home ownership is becoming easier for young people in America – something which has since raised eyebrows.
Speaking at a steel mill in Middletown, Ohio on Saturday, Vance said: “Rents are falling for the first time. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re finally seeing the American dream of home ownership become accessible again to our young people.
“And it’s not just affordability, America’s getting safer too.”
Sure enough, an FBI report on 2025 crime statistics, released last week (14 August), said the homicide rate in the US has dropped to its lowest in 75 years, with overall violent crime dropping by 9.3 per cent.
But when it comes to home ownership, a recent study from moving services firm HireAHelper said only three US states meet the affordability standard, defined as an annual mortgage payment which makes up 30 per cent or less of a state’s median yearly income.
And it’s this claim by Vance about owning a home which has been met with ridicule and criticism online:
“When you are COMPLETELY divorced from reality,” wrote podcaster Julian Dorey:
One account tweeted: “No tf we’re not lmao”:
Independent journalist James Li cited the National Association of Realtors finding the median age of first-time buyers had jumped to 40 and added: “GOLDEN AGE BABY!”:
And former US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted: “It's hard to know what planet, let alone what housing market, JD Vance is living in, to be able to make such out-of-touch claims with a straight face”:
Vance’s office has been approached by indy100 for comment.
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