{"text":[[{"start":7.275,"text":"The US economy these days has distinct haves and have-nots. Homeowners are supposed to be among the lucky ones."}],[{"start":14.56,"text":"Median home prices have risen steadily in recent years, providing a nice financial cushion, at least on paper. And those who bought homes before 2022 had the chance to lock in 30-year mortgages with annual rates well below 4 per cent, a far cry from today’s levels of above 7 per cent."}],[{"start":34.4,"text":"Yet many Americans still feel squeezed, with almost half of homeowners telling a recent CNBC poll that they lack financial breathing room, or worse. That is because mortgage rates do not tell the whole story. The other costs of property ownership have shot up in recent years, putting pressure on resident owners and landlords alike."}],[{"start":54.7,"text":"Take property taxes. In many communities, they are rolled into homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments. Though based on assessed value, these taxes have outpaced rising home prices in almost half of big US metro areas, according to a new study. Nationally, the median charge jumped 25 per cent between 2019 and 2024, the Census Bureau found. A separate commercial survey suggests a further rise of more than 5 per cent last year. The increases have been particularly stark in rapidly growing states such as Florida and Georgia."}],[{"start":88.28,"text":"Insurance is another problem. The average premium for homes with a mortgage rose 62 per cent between 2019 and 2024 to $2,300, with increases topping 70 per cent in Texas, Florida and Utah. Home insurance now absorbs 2.7 per cent of median household income, up from 2 per cent before the pandemic, according to researchers at the Dallas Fed."}],[{"start":114,"text":"Yet when homeowners try to claim on their policies, they often face frustration: last year the five biggest insurers closed nearly half of all claims, 44 per cent, without paying out a single cent. That’s up from 36 per cent a decade earlier. Perhaps that helps explain why home insurers hit record levels of underwriting profits in 2025. Last year, insurers paid out just 54 cents in claims for every dollar they collected in premiums, the lowest level since 2015, despite the devastating Los Angeles wildfires."}],[{"start":145.8,"text":"While insurance and property taxes are the biggest-ticket items, they are not the only costs. Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has wreaked havoc on maintenance and lawn care budgets by exacerbating labour shortages. Lawn care prices are up 62 per cent since 2020, and homeowner spending on maintenance rose 53 per cent between 2019 and 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump’s tariffs, too, have taken their toll, prompting manufacturers to raise prices for big appliances and feeding an almost 7 per cent year-on-year rise in the cost of laundry equipment into September’s inflation numbers."}],[{"start":183.68,"text":"All in all, it adds up to a pretty depressing picture for many people who are meant to be the winners in today’s bifurcated economy. Their disgruntlement is showing up in myriad ways as voters head to the polls for next week’s critical midterm elections."}],[{"start":198.34,"text":"In the most recent FT poll, 56 per cent of registered voters said they were worse off financially in the Trump administration, and 40 per cent said rising prices made them more likely to vote for the opposition Democrats."}],[{"start":211.36,"text":"Much of the resistance to big data centres is being led by local homeowners in places like Prince William County, Virginia. Their concerns about noise and the impact on property prices have dovetailed with broader worries about job losses and rising energy bills."}],[{"start":227.28,"text":"The growing frustration is also showing up in concrete efforts to rein in property taxes — or force data centres to pay a larger share. Four states have measures to cap or reduce the levies up for a vote next week, after 10 states took similar steps last year. Gubernatorial candidates in states ranging from Texas and Ohio to Michigan are promising to pull tax exemptions or pause data centre development amid the rising anger."}],[{"start":254.22,"text":"But that creates its own problem, particularly in states without income taxes or other ways to fund key services. “If you are cutting property taxes, you are cutting your ability to fund the education of your children,” says Jeremy Ney, who teaches at Columbia University."}],[{"start":270.74,"text":"Two years ago, concerns about the rising cost of everyday life drove Trump and the Republicans to victory. But inflation jumped to 3.7 per cent last month and consumer sentiment is at near-record lows. When even many of the winners in America’s divided economy feel squeezed, voters are likely to be seeking change again."}],[{"start":293.96,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793188727_5230.mp3"}