‘I've thought about moving to Florida often': This Connecticut single mother of 3 moved her family into a hotel due to high rent prices

“When push came to shove, I just had to be creative,” she told Fox Business in a recent interview, describing how some hotels were willing to offer her a month-to-month rate that was lower than most rental apartments in her region.

The Hayes family’s unusual move highlights a broken housing system that’s pushing many Americans to get creative with their housing.

Persistent housing crisis

The rate at which Americans are starting families is outpacing the rate of new home construction. In 2022, the number of U.S. families increased by 1.8 million, while just 1.4 million new homes were constructed, according to new analysis from Zillow. Since this gap has persisted for several years and family sizes vary, Zillow estimates that the total housing shortage stands at roughly 4.5 million.

This persistent shortage has pushed both house and rent prices higher. From 2019 to 2024, rents have climbed 19%, according to the Washington Post’s analysis of CoStar data. Meanwhile, home prices rose 4.7% in June over the year before and are expected to rise another 2.3% by 2025, according to CoreLogic.

A lack of supply and affordability is pushing many families to consider unconventional solutions. Multigenerational living, for instance, is on the rise, according to Pew Research. Meanwhile, 29% of homes purchased across the country were completed with “co-buyers” such as friends, groups and parents, data from CoBuy shows.

As for renters like Hayes, commercial properties like hotels have turned into surprising bargains. Earlier this year, 31-year-old Ben Keenan posted a TikTok claiming the cost of living on a cruise ship full-time or an all-inclusive resort would be cheaper than living in his Seattle apartment.

Relocation

The housing crisis isn’t evenly distributed across the world. While rents and home prices have been surging across North America, they’re actually dropping in Germany and France. And there’s an oversupply of 9 million vacant homes in Japan, according to a Nippon report.