Disownership Survey: Saving Money Biggest Reason for Not Buying

Posted Apr 08, 2013

Anne Pilon

Traditionally, Americans like to own things like homes and vehicles at some point in their lives. But a new trend has been changing that in recent years. More and more Americans are choosing to rent, borrow, or share things instead of owning them. Is this trend, which is often called “disownership” or “the sharing economy” really catching on? And what factors play a major role?

Home Owners

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 50% of US respondents said that they currently own a home. 44% said they rent or share a home with others. And 7% said they have a different type of living situation such as temporary college housing. Of those who don’t currently own a home, 25% said that they have owned a home in the past.

Car Owners

73% of overall respondents said that they currently own a car. Just 8% said that they lease, borrow, or share a car. And 19% said that they don’t use a car at all. Of those who don’t currently own a car, 41% said that they have owned one in the past.

Reasons

Of those who don’t currently own a home, 49% said that it’s because of financial reasons. 22% said they don’t own a home to avoid maintenance or upkeep work. Just 4% said they don’t own a home for environmental reasons. And 34% cited other reasons for not owning a home, such as having temporary living situations.Of those who don’t own a car, 44% said it’s because of financial reasons. 20% said they don’t own a car to avoid maintenance or upkeep. Just 8% said they don’t own a car for environmental reasons. And 40% cited other reasons for not owning a car, such as not having a license or just not needing a vehicle.You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Rent a bike from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on April 6 via AYTM’s online survey panel.