Latest news with #AmericanHousingSurvey
Newsweek
09-07-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Map Reveals Most Rodent-Infested US States
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than one in 10 homes (13 percent) in the United States are infested with rodents, with Vermont the most infested state—with nearly one in four homes reporting rodent sightings. This is according to a analysis by property experts at Eden Emerald Buyers Agent, who warn that rodent infestations can slash up to 10 percent of the value of a home. The study analyzed state- and county-level statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Rodent Signs dataset, published last year, which used estimates from the 2019 American Housing Survey. Rodents refer to either mice or rats. The team evaluated rodent populations across all 50 states, identifying the five most rodent-infested counties in each state. For the county rankings across the entire country, those with less than 100,000 housing units were excluded to avoid an overestimation of rodents in smaller communities. Vermont's unforgiving cold winters force rodents to seek shelter in houses when temperatures drop. Homes in Vermont were reported to be crawling with around 241 rodents for every 1,000 homes, followed by South Dakota (232) and North Dakota (229). Vermont's Orange County has the highest rodent infestation rates in the state, with 345 homes out of every 1,000 (34.5 percent of homes) reporting signs of rodents. Elsewhere in the state, Essex County followed at 32 percent, while the lowest rodent rates are in Chittenden County, where 17.2 percent of homes are impacted by rodents. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, topped the ranking among large counties, with 204,708 rats and mice reported to be roaming around the area, which amounts to 296 per 1,000 homes. Pennsylvania ranked as the 12th most rodent-infested state overall, with 983,548 rats and mice reported across 5.7 million housing units, averaging 172 rodents per 1,000 homes. Philadelphia is outranked by two other counties in the state. Fulton County was reported to have 318 rodents for every 1,000 homes, while Susquehanna County was found to have 301 mice and rats per 1,000 housing units. At the other end of the scale, Florida was found to be America's least rat-plagued state, with less than 44 rodents per 1,000 housing units. However, nearly a quarter (21 percent) of homes in Lafayette County were reported to still suffer from regular mice and rat raids. Regionally speaking, the study found that states in the northeast and Midwest are teeming with mice and rats compared to southern regions. States with rural areas in colder climates showed dramatically higher rodent populations, while warmer southern states had far less. Local factors, such as building density, waste management practices and predator populations, play vital roles in determining rodent presence. "Rodent infestations can cause serious structural damage and create health hazards, potentially slashing property values by 5 to 10 percent in badly affected areas," said Josh Roth, chief buyers agent at Eden Emerald Buyers Agent. The agent advised that homebuyers in Vermont should demand property inspections that specifically look for signs of rodent damage. "In rural counties, concentrations can generally be three times higher than the national average of 13.6 percent," Roth said. "Something fishy is certainly happening in Philly—America's rat capital," he added. The agent said: "This explains why Philadelphia legislators asked property developers to first implement rat abatement plans before they start building, to prevent them from migrating during demolitions and later stages of construction." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about vermin? Let us know via science@
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
Millions don't use AC. Why Americans are turning off air conditioners this summer
About 39 million Americans don't use AC. While many can't afford it or don't need it (yet, as the planet warms), some simply don't like it. As the thermometer inside Shelley Snyder's three-story Victorian home in Columbus, Ohio, hits 88 degrees, she is finishing a meeting with a new maid service, watering plants, and doing chores. And she's doing it all without air conditioning. Snyder said she is just fine without it. Even during heat advisories, she's found ways to cope. 'We wait all winter so we can open the windows and doors and let fresh air and summer in,' she told a reporter on a day the heat index exceeded 100 degrees. Snyder is one of about 39 million Americans − roughly 12% − who don't use AC, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While many can't afford it or don't need it because they live in cooler climates, others choose to forgo air conditioning to lower their carbon footprint. Then there are those like Snyder, who chooses to endure sweltering temperatures in her "big old house with high ceilings" and top-floor skylight windows that open. "Ceiling fans just pull the cool air out of the basement right up through the house," she said. Though air conditioning can be life saving − particularly amid record setting heat waves like the one that scorched the country in late June − some people simply don't like it, according to Gail Brager, director of the Center for the Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley. Constant AC use can cause "experiential monotony," Brager said. 'There's nothing pleasurable about it," she said. "It's not healthy for our bodies to have the same conditions all the time, everywhere, and it's also experientially, not very interesting or necessarily comfortable.' Cooler cities and states don't need AC - yet Alaska leads the nation in going without AC, according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Energy data by University of California, Berkeley professor Lucas Davis. Just 7% of households there are air-conditioned, yet the state's temperatures are rising exponentially as the planet warms. Officials issued historic advisories during June's heat wave in Alaska, where it's warming two- to three-times faster than the global average. In the lower 48 states, the least air-conditioned city is San Francisco, where nearly 55% of homes don't have AC, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Housing Survey. Devin Carraway's home is one of them. Carraway said he's lived in the Bay Area for most of his life and heat waves are rare, thus eliminating the need for air conditioning. Even if the climate were to change, he said "AC is not going to be the first thing I do." "AC is throwing a lot of energy at a problem that needs to be solved through building design first," Carraway said. Instead, Carraway has opted to install insulation and a white roof, which absorbs less heat. He said solar panels on the roof and his neighbor's "really wonderful Monterey cypress tree," also help keep his home cool on the occasional hot days. AC out of reach, assistance under threat Many Americans simply can't afford AC due to the rising costs of summer cooling. That could put them at higher risk of heat illness and death. This summer, the average electric bill is projected to reach $784, the highest cost in at least 12 years, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Black, Hispanic and lower income households are more likely to say they don't have or don't use air conditioners due to financial challenges, according to health policy organization KFF. "Many are afraid to turn on the air conditioning because of the cost," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA. There are state and federal programs that help customers on with limited income pay their energy bills, but Wolfe said they aren't enough to meet the growing need. And the Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget would eliminate funding for one of those programs, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). If enacted, Wolfe said nearly 6 million households may have to go without air conditioning or heat. Tuesday Adams, 56, of Cathedral City, California, may be one of them. She arrived at a county aid office June 25 clutching overdue utility bills topping $20,000 as temperatures hit 102 degrees. Southern California Edison has extended her deadline for more than a year, but she's received a disconnection notice. She said she has received LIHEAP help in the past, but tries not to ask too often. Informed about the looming elimination of all federal funds for the program, she didn't mince words. "They got to do something, they can not stop this program ... there's too many people out here really, really struggling ... a lot of families are gonna be in the dark in this heat," she said. Giving up AC to break the 'vicious cycle' of climate change Residential energy use, which includes cooling, heating and powering homes, accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, according to a 2020 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. 'It's this really vicious cycle that air conditioning is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, and then the warming temperatures are making us need air conditioning even more,' Brager said. Stan Cox wants to break that cycle. The author of 'Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World,' deploys fans or spends time in the basement on hot days at his home in Kansas, which is shaded by trees. As a result, he used 80% less electricity than his neighbors in similarly-sized homes last June, he said citing his utility bill. He admits something of a "love-hate relationship" with the innovation. When he experienced central air as a kid in 1967, he thought he had "died and gone to heaven," but he later came to dislike the contrast between indoor cold and outdoor heat. 'I just didn't like it," he said. But Cox does turn on the AC at least once each summer "just to make sure it's still in good working order." "Or if we have people coming to dinner," he said. "Because we can't really invite people to dinner when it's 85 degrees in the house." Back in Columbus, Ohio, Snyder's neighbor has a large oak that partially shades her home in the morning. And when it does get toasty or stuffy inside, Snyder said she finds chores to do in her basement or outside. Snyder has a portable window AC unit, but she reserves it only for visitors who stay the night. She hasn't used it in 10 years. "I appreciate air conditioning like the next guy," she said. "Would I personally like to have it? Sure. I'll be 70 this year. But I've gone this long without it." Contributing: Sara Chernikoff and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY
New York Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Who's More Likely to D.I.Y.?
Being a homeowner means taking on projects big and small, long-planned and unexpected. But will you do-it-yourself, or will you find that the job is best suited for a hired professional? The answer largely depends on your income and age, according to a report and expert insight from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. In its latest report, Improving America's Housing 2025, the center conducted an analysis of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2023 American Housing Survey. Household income and homeowner age were among the factors that influenced spending on home improvements and repairs, and the type of projects that were undertaken. The report compared five income groups, the lowest earning less than $37,500 and the highest more than $172,000. The lowest earners spent an average $3,100 a year on projects like landscaping, minor plumbing repairs and bath upgrades. That was a fraction of the $10,900 spent by the highest earners, who tended to hire professionals for pricier and more complex installations, such as window replacement. While the bottom fifth spent less, their expenses represented a greater slice of their income — 16.3 percent versus 3.7 percent of the top income group. 'Lower-income householders are often cash strapped,' said Sophia Wedeen, a senior research analyst with the Joint Center. 'The fact that they're investing so much less in dollars but spending more of their incomes is certainly reinforcing inequities in housing conditions and finances.' The calculations also considered race and ethnicity, household composition and other traits, but of the homeowner characteristics evaluated, Ms. Wedeen noted, income is a main driver of spending. Professional installations make up the bulk of home project spending. Yet, when looking at D.I.Y.s, Ms. Wedeen explained, lower-income and younger homeowners — specifically those under the age of 35 — were 'most likely' among other age and income groups to undertake and spend money on doing the work themselves. 'There are many drivers of D.I.Y. activity, and certainly part of it is age,' said Ms. Wedeen. Younger homeowners have lower incomes, have had less time to build the home equity often used to fund larger professional projects and are more likely to live in newer homes that don't need major work. D.I.Y. jobs are typically smaller and less expensive. Plus, she said, this group tends to be more interested in being hands-on. Home Improvement Spending Snapshot The disparity in spending between D.I.Y. and professional projects is notable, as is the gap in what the highest and lowest earners spend for each. D.I.Y. project spending MOST SPENT BY AGE LOWEST EARNERS HIGHEST EARNERS $376 $1,086 $1,020 BY THOSE UNDER 35 YEARS OLD Professional project spending LOWEST EARNERS HIGHEST EARNERS MOST SPENT BY AGE $1,884 $8,018 $4,717 BY THOSE 35 TO 44 YEARS OLD D.I.Y. project spending Professional project spending LOWEST EARNERS LOWEST EARNERS $376 $1,884 HIGHEST EARNERS HIGHEST EARNERS $1,086 $8,018 MOST SPENT BY AGE MOST SPENT BY AGE $1,020 $4,717 BY THOSE UNDER 35 YEARS OLD BY THOSE 35 TO 44 YEARS OLD Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard Univiersity By The New York Times
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What does it cost to own a home in 2025?
Your house isn't just one of the biggest purchases you'll likely make. It's an ongoing expense — or source of expenses — as well. You know about your mortgage payments, of course. But in addition to those, there are regular costs of maintenance and upkeep. Some of these are obvious, encountered in everyday life – housekeeping, lawn mowing, window washing. Others are financial, like property taxes, utilities bills and homeowners insurance. And then there are the wear-and-tear repairs and unexpected fixes, less obvious to the naked eye until there's an inspection or break. The point is, all of them drive up the tab associated with homeownership. Of homeowners who regret their residential purchase, the top reason — expressed by 42 percent — is that maintenance and other unexpected home-related costs were higher than expected, according to Bankrate's Homeowner Regrets Survey. One of the biggest costs of owning a home is maintenance and routine upkeep. Maintenance includes some obvious and not so obvious things. Obvious home maintenance costs are items in plain sight, which often impact the curb appeal of a home, such as: Lawn care, including mowing, weeding and watering Exterior care: keeping paint fresh, siding in good condition Interior care: Keeping the home clean, windows washed Landscaping, both 'hard' (structural items like a patio or deck) and 'soft,' such as vegetation and gardens Hidden costs are projects that you may not see or spend much time thinking about until you have to – because something malfunctions or a problem develops. Pest prevention Clearing rain gutters Replacing HVAC, wiring or plumbing systems Roof repair If you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association (HOA), you'll likely need to pay HOA fees, which could be charged monthly, quarterly or annually. Covering upkeep for common areas, roads and facilities/services, the average national HOA fee is $243 a month, or $2,916 a year, according to the Census Bureau's latest American Housing Survey data. But depending on where you live and the association, HOA fees can amount to thousands of dollars more per year, especially when they include a large, one-time special assessment. HOA expenses have been steadily increasing for homeowners of late. As you add up the cost of owning a home, don't forget to include homeowners insurance. Most mortgage lenders require that you carry a certain amount of homeowners insurance to protect the value of the home, but the policy also protects you. When a covered event happens, you can rely on the insurance payout to help you make repairs rather than paying the whole cost out of pocket. The national average cost is just over $2,300 per year for a $300,000 policy, but of course coverage and premiums vary widely, depending on your home's value and your location. Certainly, the growing frequency of extreme weather and natural disasters has caused the cost of coverage to skyrocket across the country, as the need for rebuilding and repairing increases. Generally speaking, if you want to save money on premiums, you can increase your deductible. More than 1 in 4 (26%) of U.S. homeowners say they are unprepared for the potential costs associated with extreme weather events in their area. And more than 2 out of 5 homeowners (43%) have not done anything within the last five years to protect their property against extreme weather damage. Source: Bankrate Extreme Weather Survey Property taxes are determined by your city or county's effective tax rate and your home's value, which may be evaluated based on fair market value in the area or by the home's individually assessed worth. The current median property tax bill across the United States is $3,057 annually, according to the American Community Survey. But as home prices have been soaring in recent years in many markets across the nation, so too have property tax bills. Depending on your city or county, these bills might be paid each month, or you might end up with a bill every year or twice a year. If you have a mortgage, they are often collected as part of your monthly payment. Utility bills are an increasingly costly expense associated with homeownership: In fact, they're often the biggest single cost. The average American household's utility bills include cell phone and internet costs, along with electricity, gas and water. Of those expenses, cell phone bills are the most costly, averaging about $1,884 annually. Energy prices in particular have been rising for about a decade amid a variety of pressures including general inflation, increased energy demands and the costs associated with extreme weather. They're consistently one of the biggest gainers in the Consumer Price Index; the CPI shows that energy services were up 4.2 percent year-over-year as of March 2025, for example. Overall, the various costs of homeownership add up to approximately $24,529 per year or $2,044 per month, in addition to their mortgage payment, according to recent study by Clever Real Estate, a homeseller/agent match site. But that's a national average. The sum can vary by thousands of dollars depending on where you live, from over $30,000 for Hawaii and California to around $15,000 in several southern and midwestern states. Since 2020, the average annual cost of owning a home in the U.S. has risen steadily. And maintenance costs are the single biggest expense, according to Bankrate's Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study. Not surprisingly, the more affordable a city's residential real estate is, the more affordable the maintenance costs tend to be. Once you have a handle on the full costs of owning a home, creating a budget is key. Some costs, like homeowners insurance, HOA fees and property taxes, occur like clockwork, so you might be able to include a regular line item in your budget for them. If you have a mortgage, you'll likely be able to include them in your monthly payment. Calculating the cost of less regular upkeep expenses and future repairs can be a little trickier. One suggestion, provided by American Family Insurance, is to set aside about 1 percent of your home's value each year for maintenance and repairs; other insurers, such as State Farm, recommend up to 4 percent. For example, if your home's value is $375,000, the current average home value in America, you'd want to budget about $3,750 per year. You could break that down into a monthly budget item of $312.50, and keep the money in a high-yield savings account until it's needed. Gauging your budget for repairs may be more challenging. If you're buying a fixer-upper, a home inspection report can provide you with an idea of how much to budget for repairs and upgrades. You can also build an emergency fund to help you pay for home repairs and maintenance — many people find that having a separate savings account for the unexpected costs of owning a home can be helpful. Given the increasing frequency of natural disasters and extreme weather events, it is important to be prepared for emergencies and unforeseen events. About 83 percent of homeowners had to deal with unexpected repairs/maintenance issues in 2024, up from 46 percent in 2023, according to insurer Hippo's annual Housepower Report. They were dealing primarily with problems related to water damage, roof damage, and window or doors. Although some of these things can be covered by your homeowners insurance policy, there may be shortfalls or delays in reimubursement. To help address some of the uncertainty surrounding sudden home expenses, nearly half of the Hippo survey homeowners say they planned to create an emergency plan for 2025, while 42 percent were reassessing their home insurance policies. About 30 percent were also considering adding more coverage to ensure they are adequately protected. If you don't have savings to cover the cost of emergency expenses or don't want to drain all of your cash on hand, another option is tapping into your home equity. Ways to do so include: A home equity loan A home equity line of credit (HELOC) A cash-out refinance A reverse mortgage (for homeowners 55 years old and up) Using the ownership you've amassed in your home can help cover the costs of emergency expenses, and going this route often allows you to avoid the steep interest rates that come with personal loans or credit cards. After embarking on an emergency repair, homeowners often opt for a full-blown replacement or renovation: It can make more economic sense long-term to upgrade than to keep on patching. Even in cases when a repair doesn't precipitate the project, judicious improvements are an investment that can help ensure your home not only maintains its value, but also appreciates over the course of time. In the last few years in particular, renovations have become especially popular among American homeowners who would rather avoid the steep home purchase prices and mortgage interest rates involved in moving to a new home . But as with any significant expense, it's best to know which renovations offer the most return on investment (ROI). Some of the most popular home improvements, for instance, such as updating a kitchen or remodeling a bathroom, can be quite costly. But they can also enhance your home's worth and offer a good ROI, provided you don't go overboard on luxe features and fixtures. There are many ways to pay for home renovation projects. While most homeowners opt for using their savings, others prefer to finance — in fact, over half of homeowners (55 percent) cite home repairs or improvements as a good reason to tap their built-up home equity, according to Bankrate's Home Equity Insight Survey. Remodeling is the most popular use of home equity financing, in fact. More than half (54 percent) of consumers used a home equity loan/line of credit to pay for projects, according to the National Association of Realtors' '2025 Remodeling Impact Report.' Here too, it's important to investigate the options in advance and understand the pros and cons of each option. Using savings can help you avoid interest charges but also depletes your cash on hand. Financing, on the other hand, allows for starting the project immediately and allows you to maintain savings for other needs.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Will Texas Legislature finally mandate landlords to provide AC for renters?
At the height of Texas summers, residents whose homes lack air conditioners have no escape from the extreme heat. And it's only getting hotter. Air conditioning has long been considered an amenity for renters in the state, but as temperatures continue to rise, experts and some lawmakers are beginning to see cooling as a fundamental right. State Rep. Sheryl Cole, D-Austin, is trying again this year to pass a bill that guarantees tenants' right to air conditioning. The bill would require landlords to provide cooling systems and offer accommodations when repairs take more than five days. The proposal, which is the same as one Cole filed two years ago, faces a tough road because of hesitancy in the GOP-led House and Senate to put more onus on landlords and more regulations on the books. Nevertheless, proponents believe the issue is becoming more pressing, including in cities like Austin, Houston and San Antonio. 'No one should suffer or die in their own home just because they can't afford air conditioning,' said Rep. Christina Morales, D-Houston, one of the bill's co-authors. 'In Texas, this isn't just about comfort. This is about survival.' In Harris County, 80 deaths were linked to heat-related complications from 2019 to 2023, according to a Harris County Public Health report. Exposure to extreme heat can strain a person's heart and kidneys as well as worsen chronic conditions and cause acute kidney injuries, according to the World Health Organization. When people pick up fans from Austin-based Family Eldercare's annual summer fan drive, they're often getting relief from intense conditions, said Meghan Jones, the organization's interim chief development and communication officer. Of the more than 10,000 recipients the group served last year, 48% reported feeling sick from the summer heat, according to Jones. 'I think that just shows that more and more people really need heat relief,' she said. In Texas, about 54,200 occupied rental units had no form of air conditioning in 2021, according to the American Housing Survey, and many more tenants suffer through extreme heat when their systems break for extended periods, said Ben Martin, research director Texas Housers, which advocates for low-income residents. While Martin said he knows thousands of units don't have air conditioning, the statistics don't show a much bigger issue: faulty units. 'The broader problem that we see is broken air conditioning that is not fixed in a timely manner, which has the same effect as no air conditioning at all,' he said. There are no statewide protections for tenants for cooling or a guaranteed time frame for repairs. But several cities have some in place, even if they're limited. Houston's mandate only applies if the rental units lack screens on doors and windows, meaning cross ventilation cancels the right to an air conditioning unit. The Texas Apartment Association did not respond to requests for comment on the proposed legislation. During a hearing on a recent Austin ordinance mandating air conditioning, Emily Blair, a representative for the Austin Apartment Association, said it's difficult to install cooling equipment in apartments built before the 1970s. She said such costs could be 'financially devastating' for property owners and mean higher rents for tenants. 'We understand the intent behind the proposed requirement,' Blair said. 'Although we want renters to be as comfortable as possible in their home, the realities of older construction limit what can realistically be provided.' Larissa Larsen, a University of Michigan professor of urban and regional planning, said policies are increasingly reflecting a change in the need for air conditioning. 'We used to think air conditioning was a luxury,' Larsen said. 'Now we're realizing it's not – it's a necessity.' While air conditioning mandates are only beginning to pop up, heating requirements have existed across the nation for years, mostly because people in northern states pushed through such protections decades ago. California, New York and Oregon have all adopted at least some tenant protections for air conditioning. Arizona state law requires landlords to repair AC units within 10 days. But Elizabeth Mueller, a University of Texas associate professor of community and regional planning, said a statewide mandate is unlikely to pass in Texas any time soon. 'There's just a reflexive reaction against any efforts to regulate rental property conditions,' she said. Martin, of Texas Housers, said he worries for Texans as summer fast approaches. The future of the federally funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income households cover weather-related utility costs, is uncertain after staff layoffs. To Martin, cost burdens aren't a good enough reason for landlords to oppose new cooling guidelines. 'If we want to make housing really cost effective, it's very cost effective to not put a roof on the house,' he said. 'These landlords are housing human beings, and we must establish a baseline of dignity for the humans, for the families, for the individuals that are living in these homes.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas bill mandating AC for renters faces tough road in legislature
