See also home ownership rate

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3csz8mz is a BBC short program, consistent with the statistics from other sources. If accurate, then these pictures make a backdrop for my family to be seen as /affluent/ immigrants when we arrive in the U.S.

==== based on https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/the-covid-19-eviction-crisis-an-estimated-30-40-million-people-in-america-are-at-risk/ in Aug 2020
( For a Singapore perspective, https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-matters/q-as/view/written-answer-by-ministry-of-national-development-on-households-living-in-hdb-rental-flats has some Singapore stats. Due to my bias, I tend to perceive it as more accurate than the U.S. stats. )

.. an estimated 30–40 million people in America (presumably beyond citizens) could be at risk of eviction in the next several months. Many property owners, who lack the credit or financial ability to cover rental payment arrears, will struggle to pay their mortgages and pTaxes and maintain properties. The COVID-19 housing crisis has sharply increased the risk of foreclosure and bankruptcy, especially among small property owners.

Multiple studies have quantified the effect of COVID-19-related job loss and economic hardship on renters’ ability to pay rent during the pandemic. While methodologies differ, these analyses converge on a dire prediction: If conditions do not change, 29-43% of renter households could be at risk of eviction by the end of 2020.

30% of renters (in some unknown survey) indicate that they have borrowed cash or obtained a loan to make rental payments. Tenants are increasingly using credit cards to pay the rent.

Personally, I find these percentages too high to be realistic.

— rental unit stats
As of 2020, “mom and pop” landlords own 22.7 million out of 48.5 million rental units in the U.S. housing market. In addition, I think there exist additional “rentable” units out there, but not put on the rental market, perhaps because owner doesn’t like to deal with tenants.

As of 2020, 44% of single-family rental units have a mortgage or some similar debt. Percentage go up when you go beyond SFH. 65% of properties with 2 to 4 units and 61% of properties with 5 to 19 units have a mortgage.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-frm-asst-sec-061118.html has lots of details.

— renter population stats
2020 Apr: NMHC and the National Apartment Association informed Congress in April that “more than 25 percent of the households that rent in the US may need help making payments” because of COVID-19 rental hardship, translating to nearly 11 million households and 25 million people.

More precisely, in 2020 there are 100.8 million people in 43.8 million “renter households”.

1 in 3 Americans (probably including foreigners) live as renters, according to https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/quick-facts-figures/quick-facts-resident-demographics/renters-and-owners/

14 million, or 30% of, renter households include children. I think most renter households desire to buy their home when they have children. Many of these 14 million households are unable or unwilling to.

In Singapore, About 52,000 households currently live in HDB rental flats under government schemes.

— rental burden among total household expenses, even before covid19

• COVID-19 struck when 20.8 million renter households (47.5% of all renter households) were already rental cost-burdened, according to 2018 numbers. Rental cost burden is defined as households who pay over 30% of their income towards rent. I find this statistic credible.
• When the pandemic began, 10.9 million renter households (25% of all renter households) were spending over 50% of their income on rent each month.
• Among renter households below the poverty line, The majority spent at least half of their income towards rent in 2018, with one in four spending over 70% of their income toward housing costs