Housing
 
Estimated Number of Printed Pages: 11
 
TOPICS COVERED: Housing. It couldn't be a more basic part of family life – the importance of which being hammered home as we've seen so many lose their homes during Hurricane Katrina. The below information is about the availability of housing in the U.S.* To begin with, we've highlighted housing problems some families face – a section that casts a sober light on the rest of the information. "Rent Or Own" has information on the number of those who rent and own housing. "Housing Costs" includes not just some median pricing information, but how much a family has to earn to put a roof over their head. . . and just how difficult that may be . . . .
 
MEMOS ON RELATED INFORMATION: Poverty, Keeping Up With the Joneses, American Dream, Ozzie and Harriet Land,
 
Links to Sources for this material are available below. Please also see The Factbook Sources page for further information regarding Factbook sources and their availability.
 
 
 

PAGE INDEX:

 

HOUSING PROBLEMS

RENT OR OWN

HOUSING COSTS

 
 

HOUSING PROBLEMS

 
 
 
 
Twice as many –
Americans have housing problems than as those who don't have health insurance. 1.
 
 
 
For nearly two million
of the households in U.S., the housing itself is severely inadequate. 2.
 
 
 
For one in 50
U.S. households, that housing is seriously substandard. 3.
 
 
 
95 million
Americans have housing cost burdens or are living in crowded or inadequate conditions. 4.
 
 
 
One in seven poor families
live in housing that is severely deficient, meaning it may not have hot water, no electricity, no toilet, or neither a bathtub nor a shower. 5.
 
 
 
2.5-2.5 million
of people in the U.S. are homeless at some point in a given year – 850,000 people are homeless on any given night. 6.
 
 
 
Just 12 percent
of U.S. families eligible housing aid or public housing actually receive it. 7.
 
 
 
A commitment with "bad business"–
– according to an 1926 magazine article – was the source of the ‘own your home’ movement – which wrongly, in the editors' view – espoused that even a poor one family home was better than not having a home of your own. The article alleged that within "city planning circles there has been a conscious, though un-admitted, compromise with business, and frequently with bad business, with the idea that any sort of house was better than no house. Some housing workers have clung to the fallacy that even a poor one family house was better than any kind of multi-family house.¶ I would be the last to discount the merits of good one-family houses or to over look the deficiencies of multi-family houses as frequently built by unscrupulous speculative build-ers. It is time, however, that we should look facts in the face. Sentimental nonsense has too long kept our mind on an impossible ideal, and has diverted our attention from the real facts and the real changes which are taking place in urban conditions. ¶ Traditional housing takes place in various distinct forms in different communities where tradition and custom act to compromise in one way or another the ideals of a bygone age. The transition from single to solid row houses, as in Philadelphia is less effective in both cost saving and lang congestion that the transition, as in St. Louis, from the single house to the four-family flat or the six-family three-decker. Both are inevitable and, as Rubinow has shown in Philadelphia, at least one has become ineffective in meeting the present emergency.” 47.
 
 
 
The "veterans' housing project" –
the housing arrangement that was most characteristic of young U.S. postwar families, according to 1950's The Survey. 48
 
 
 
In the mid-1940s
one-third of all American homes didn't have running water. Two-fifths of the homes didn't have flush toilets, and half didn't have electric refrigerators. 49.
 
 
 
"Excruciating"
– how young married couples profiled in a magazine article in 1950 described the first type of housing they'd been forced into because of the housing shortage. What was so awful? They were living with their parents. Compared to that, the couples moved – escaped – into anything – even trailers, boarding houses, or someone else's uninsulated attic. 50.
 
 
 

HOUSING PROBLEMS
HOUSING COSTS

 
 
 
 

RENT OR OWN

 
 
 
Actually, we already are an ownership society­
There are more homeowners in the U.S. than renters in all but 36 (1.1 percent) of the 3,141 counties and equivalent areas of the U.S. 8.

 
 
66.2 percent
of housing is U.S. owner-occupied (including those with mortgages and those owning free and clear) in 2000. That’s 69.8 million households, or two out of three. 9.
 
 
 
73 percent
of U.S. families are owner-occupiers. 10.
 
 
 
Less than half ­
of United States households owned their homes in 1890. The [U.S.] homeownership rate declined from 1890 to 1920. 11.
 
 
 
43.6 percent
The lowest U.S. homeownership in of the century ­ in 1940, at the height of the Great Depression. 12.
 
 
 
Over 60 percent
of households owned their own homes following the Post WWII boom. 13.
 
 
 
64 percent
of U.S. households owned their homes in 1990. 14.
 
 
 
Four out of five married couples
are owner-occupiers of a home. 15.
 
 
 
76.9 percent
of married couples with children are owner-occupiers of a home. Married couples without children, or those whose children were out on their own were even more likely to own a home: 84.8 percent. 16.
 
 
 
53.2 percent
of Asians in the U.S. who are owner-occupiers of their homes, less than the national average. 51.
 
 
 
54 percent
of Hispanics in the U.S. are renters, compared with the national average of 34 percent. 52.
 
 
 
Renters outnumber owners in five U.S. cities:
Jersey City, New Jersey (30.7 percent); New York, New York (34.7 percent); Los Angeles-Long Beach, California (47.9 percent); San Francisco, California (49.0 percent); and Bryan-College Station, Texas (home of Texas A&M University.) (45.6 percent). 17.
 
 
 
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston ­
renters outnumber homeowners in each of the U.S.'s four largest cities. 18.
 
 
 
34 percent
of those in the U.S. rent the place they live in. 19.
 
 
1.3 million
Average net number of new U.S. households each year since 2000. 20.
 
 
 
It isn't your imagination: they really all are "luxury" apartments ­
For the past 10 years, the U.S. rental housing construction has been disproportionately building rental units for the Top Fifth of the market. In 2001, almost half of the rental units built since 1990 were renting for at least $750, compared with only 29 percent of those built earlier. According to a Harvard report on housing, the difference is not fully explained by the increased age of the other units. Instead, it's that the newer units have more amenities. After 1990, almost half of units had two or more bathrooms and three-quarters of them had central air conditioning. Only 15 percent of unit built before 1990 had more than one bathroom, and only 40 percent had central air. 21.
 
 
 
55.4 percent of single men-headed households
are homeowners, compared to 49.6 percent of U.S. families maintained by single women. 22.
 
 
 
Older householders are more likely to be homeowners –
78 percent of American householders 65 and over – especially those 65 to 74 – own a home. 23.
 
 
 

HOUSING PROBLEMS
RENT OR OWN

 
 
 

HOUSING COSTS

 
 
 
The most affordable housing metropolitan area in the U.S.: Buffalo / Niagara Falls, New York.
At a median price of $75,000, almost 90 percent of the new and existing homes sold during the second quarter of 2005 were affordable to families making the area’s median income of $57,000. Out of cities with a population greater than 50,000.
 
 
 
The least affordable housing area in the U.S.: Los Angeles / Long Beach / Glendale, California
At a median price of $461,000, just 3.6 percent of the new and existing homes sold in the Los Angeles area during the second quarter of 2005 were affordable to families making the area’s median income of $$54,500.
 
 
 
Your best shot: Ohio
In the second quarter of 2005, four of the top ten cities with populations larger than 500,000 with the most affordable housing were in Ohio. And three Ohio cities with populations under 500,000 made that list for most affordable, as well.
 
 
 
Your worst nightmare: California
In the second quarter of 2005, eight of the top ten cities with populations larger than 500,000 with the least affordable housing were in California. And if you think that small-town living is the answer, think again: nine of the top ten areas with populations under 500,000 were also in California.
 
 
 
21.7 percent
The median monthly owner costs as a percentage of monthly income for American homeowners with a mortgage. 24.
 
 
 
One-third
of all U.S. households spend 30 percent or more of their incomes on housing. A 30 percent housing expenditure is considered "financially burdensome." 25.
 
 
 
13 percent
of U.S. households spend at least 50 percent of their income on their housing. 26.
 
 
 
The West reported the highest median monthly costs at $1,289, closely followed by the Northeast at $1,274. The Midwest ($976) and the South ($967) have monthly owner costs far below the national median of $1,088. 27.
 
 
 
45.9 percent
of homes in the U.S. are affordable to a family earning that city's median income. 28.
 
 
 
Almost 90 percent
of homes in Buffalo-Niagara Falls were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $57,000 – making that the most affordable market in the U.S. The median price of homes sold in Buffalo: $75,000. 29.
 
 
 
3.6 percent
of homes in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $54,000 – making that the least affordable metropolitan market in the U.S. The median price of homes sold in that area: $461,000.  30.
 
 
 
California –
is the least affordable state for housing overall. California had out eight of the 10 of its cities across the nation on the least affordable list among markets with over 500,000 people, and nine out of 10 metros on the list for markets with a population less than 500,000. 31.
 
 
 
$1,088
The national median monthly mortgage costs in the U.S. in 2000. In the U.S., Asian mortgage-holders had median monthly costs of $1,540, above the national medians. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander householders, Two or more races householders, and Non-Hispanic White householders also reported medians above those of all householders ($1,261, $1,137, and $1,095, respectively). Monthly homeowner costs were lowest for American Indian and Alaska Native ($879) and Black or African American ($937). 32.
 
 
 
$44,000
The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $188,900 in the U.S. in December 2004. 33.
 
 
 
$124,320
The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home ($530,430) in California in August 2005 – an increase of over $15,000 in just one year. That is based on an average effective mortgage interest rate of 5.76 percent with a 20 percent downpayment. 34.
 
 
 
$70,480
The difference between the median household income in Southern California ($53,840) and the qualifying income ($124,320) needed for the median priced home ($530,430 ) during the second quarter of 2005. 35.
 
 
 
$102,230
The difference between the median household income in San Francisco ($68,140) and the qualifying income (170,370) needed for the median priced home ($726,920) during the second quarter of 2005. 36.
 
 
 
$15.37
The U.S. national hourly "Housing Wage," ($31,970 a year), i.e. the amount of money needed to be made, such that a fair market rental of a two bedroom home equals no more than the recommended 30 percent of income. That is almost three times the federal minimum wage. 37.
 
 
 
$6.21
Starr County, Texas's "Housing Wage," i.e. the amount of money needed to be made, per hour, such that a fair market rental of a two bedroom home equals no more than the recommended 30 percent of income. 38.
 
 
 
$5.90
The "Housing Wage" i.e. the amount of money needed to be made, per hour, for sections of Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, $5.90 is greater than the median hourly wage. 39.

 
 
$29.60
San Francisco's "Housing Wage," i.e. the amount of money needed to be made, per hour, such that a fair market rental of a two bedroom home equals no more than the recommended 30 percent of income. 40.
 
 
 
1.0 to 1.5 million lire a month -
Rent for the smallest of Italian apartments. Which it means its out of reach for most: it takes young people about four years to find a job, while white collar professionals such as teachers and architects make about two million lire a month (about US$955). 41.
 
 
 
Almost 79 percent
of renter households in the U.S. would have to work over 80 hours each week at the local minimum wage to afford a two bedroom apartment at the Fair Market Rent. 42.
 
 
 
202 hours each week
Number of hours required to work at a California minimum wage job ($6.75 per hour) in order to pay for a fair market rental two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. 43.

 
 
100 hours
Number of hours each week required to work at a California minimum wage job ($6.75 per hour) in order to pay for a fair market rental one-bedroom apartment in California. 44.
 
 
 
126 hours
Number of hours each week required to work at a California minimum wage job ($6.75 per hour) in order to pay for a fair market rental two-bedroom apartment in the state of California. 45.
 
 
 
160 hours
Number of hours each week required to work at a California minimum wage job ($6.75 per hour) in order to pay for a fair market rental one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. 46.
 
_________________________________________________________________________
 
* The information predates Hurricane Katrina, which will no doubt have a serious effect on housing needs in the Gulf states for years to come.
1. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 23. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
2. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
3. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 25. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
4. As of 2001. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 23. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
5. ________, Fact sheet, Habitat for Humanity Website, citing The 1993 U.S. Census Housing Survey. Accessed at: http://www.habitat.org/how/stats.aspx?print=true#P20_2837 on September 5, 2005.
6. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004). p. 4, 25. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
7. Pearce, Diana M., How Work Supports Impact Family Budgets: An Analysis of the Interaction of Public Policies and Wages, Center for Women’s Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Wider Opportunities for Women (July 2004), p. 18 (citation omitted). Archived at: http://www.wowonline.org/docs/dynamic-CTTA-45.pdf
8. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
9. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
10. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), pp. 5-7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
11. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
12. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
13. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
14. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
15. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), pp. 5-7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
16. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), pp. 5-7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
17. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), p. 5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
18. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), pp. 5-7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
19. Roberto R. Ramirez, We the People: Hispanics in the United States, Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-18. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2004), p. 17. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-18.pdf
20. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
21. ________, The State of the Nation's Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 23. Accessed at http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
22. Jeanne Woodward and Bonnie Damon, Housing Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-01-13. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2001), pp. 5-7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-13.pdf
23. Yvonne J. Gist and Lisa I. Hetzel, We the People: Aging in the United States, U.S. Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-19. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2004), p. 9. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-19.pdf
24. Robert Bonnette, Housing Costs of Homeowners: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-27. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), pp. 4-5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-27.pdf
25. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
26. ________, The State of the Nation’s Housing, 2004, Report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (2004), p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son2004.pdf on August 15, 2005.
27. Robert Bonnette, Housing Costs of Homeowners: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-27. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-27.pdf
28. Based on the second quarter of 2005. _______, "Buffalo, N.Y. Rated Most Affordable Major U.S. Housing Market: Ohio Dominates Top-10 List of Most Affordable Metros," National Assoc. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (August 25, 2005). Accessed at http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=135&newsID=1567 on September 1, 2005.
29. Based on the second quarter of 2005. _______, "Buffalo, N.Y. Rated Most Affordable Major U.S. Housing Market: Ohio Dominates Top-10 List of Most Affordable Metros," National Assoc. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (August 25, 2005). Accessed at http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=135&newsID=1567 on September 1, 2005.
30. Based on the second quarter of 2005. _______, "Buffalo, N.Y. Rated Most Affordable Major U.S. Housing Market: Ohio Dominates Top-10 List of Most Affordable Metros," National Assoc. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (August 25, 2005). Accessed at http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=135&newsID=1567 on September 1, 2005.
31. Based on the second quarter of 2005. _______, "Buffalo, N.Y. Rated Most Affordable Major U.S. Housing Market: Ohio Dominates Top-10 List of Most Affordable Metros," National Assoc. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (August 25, 2005). Accessed at http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=135&newsID=1567 on September 1, 2005.
32. Robert Bonnette, Housing Costs of Homeowners: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-27. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 3. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-27.pdf
33. ________, "California's Housing Affordability Index at 19 percent in December; down four points from year ago," Press Release, Calif. Assoc. of Realtors (Release date: February 10, 2005).
34. ________, "C.A.R. survey reveals California households fall $70,480 short in income needed to purchase home," Press Release, Calif. Assoc. of Realtors (Release date: August 2, 2005) Accessed at: http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzUyNzE=# on September 1, 2005.
35. ________, "C.A.R. survey reveals California households fall $70,480 short in income needed to purchase home," Press Release, Calif. Assoc. of Realtors (Release date: August 2, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzUyNzE=# on September 1, 2005.
36. ________, "C.A.R. survey reveals California households fall $70,480 short in income needed to purchase home," Press Release, Calif. Assoc. of Realtors (Release date: August 2, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzUyNzE=# on September 1, 2005.
37. ________, Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2004. Available at: http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004/
38. ________, Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2004. Available at: http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004/
39. ________, Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2004 http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004/
40. ________, Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2004. Available at: http://www.nlihc.org/oor2004/
41. Carla Power, "Staying Home With Mamma,"