Redfin Survey: Trump Expected to be Better for Homeowners, Biden Better for Renters

SEATTLE, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) -- More homeowners expect Trump (44%) to be better for the housing market than Biden (35%), while the opposite is true for renters, with 45% picking Biden and only 28% picking Trump. This is according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The two candidates were essentially tied on who will be better for the housing market overall.

"The current housing shortage and affordability crisis has been decades in the making," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Neither Republican or Democratic presidents have solved the problem of housing costs rising faster than incomes, so it's not surprising that so many people believe neither candidate will help the housing market. But it should be encouraging that both candidates have brought up housing during their campaigns in recognition that housing policy is of national importance."

Trump has a four-point lead as the candidate that voters expect will be better for homeowners, with 42% of respondents giving him the edge compared to 38% of people who said Biden would be better for homeowners. Trump's lead widens among homeowners, 46% of whom expect Trump to be better for themselves, compared to 36% who expect Biden to be better. Among renters the results flip, with far more renters (45%) expecting Biden to be better for homeowners than Trump (31%). On the flip side, Biden has a seven-point edge as the candidate people expect to be better specifically for renters, leading 42% to 35%.

Biden holds an even larger lead among renters, with nearly half (49%) saying that Biden will be better for renters, compared to just a quarter who expect Trump to be better for renters. Homeowners are close to evenly split between who they think will be better for renters.

"Trump has promised to preserve suburban home values, and Biden has promised to do away with exclusionary housing policies that limit housing available for low-income renters," explained Fairweather. "Those campaign promises explain in part why people believe Trump would be better for homeowners, but Biden would be better for renters."

The same Redfin survey of over 3,000 U.S. adults, which the company conducted in early October, also found that over half of respondents (56%) think the government should provide incentives for builders to build more housing, but less than half as many (27%) support zoning policies that would allow more dense housing in their own neighborhood. 

According to another new Redfin report expanding on these findings, people who are voting for Joe Biden were more likely to support government programs for housing, with 61% supporting down payment assistance, 73% supporting incentives for low income housing, and 66% supporting incentives for creating any type of housing. However, when it comes to zoning for density in their own neighborhood, just 32% of Biden voters said that they support such policies.

Trump voters were less likely to support any of the three pro-housing policies Redfin asked about, with just 43% in favor of down-payment assistance and 49% supporting incentives for low-income housing or any kind of housing. Only 24% of Trump voters support policies that make more dense housing possible in their neighborhood.

"Housing is one of the few types of policies that does not fall neatly into liberal or conservative camps," said Fairweather. "While many Americans across both major parties can agree that there's a need for more housing—particularly affordable housing—both Democrats and Republicans are reluctant to see their own neighborhoods become more dense. This will be a challenge for those elected into local, state and federal offices next week, but hopefully politicians will work together to create bipartisan housing reforms like down-payment assistance or incentives to build more affordable homes." 

Support for down-payment assistance was predictably high among renters, with 62% in support compared to just 48% among homeowners. However, renters were not much more likely than homeowners to support government incentives for low-income or other types of housing, with support from both groups ranging between 55% and 61%. Renters were also mostly opposed to density in their own neighborhood, with just 31% supporting the idea, compared to 26% of homeowners.

To read both of these reports complete with charts of Redfin's survey findings, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/us-election-trump-biden-housing-market
https://www.redfin.com/news/support-for-housing-not-density/ 

About Redfin 
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered residential real estate company, redefining real estate in the consumer's favor in a commission-driven industry. We do this by integrating every step of the home buying and selling process and pairing our own agents with our own technology, creating a service that is faster, better and costs less. We offer brokerage, iBuying, mortgage, and title services, and we also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage search site, offering a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 90 markets in the United States and Canada. Since our launch in 2006, we have saved our customers over $800 million and we've helped them buy or sell more than 235,000 homes worth more than $115 billion.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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SOURCE Redfin