Center for Housing Policy Finds Housing Affordability Declining

From the Executive Summary

A close look at the data shows that rather than improving, housing affordability actually worsened slightly between 2005 and 2008. The share of U.S. households spending more than half of their monthly income for housing (including utilities) increased from 14 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2008. The same pattern held for the working households that are the principal subject of this report; the share of working households spending more than half their income on housing increased from 20 to 21 percent over the three-year period. Part of the blame for worsening housing affordability can be attributed to home utility costs – which rose by nearly 23 percent, or more than double the rate of overall inflation, but broader housing market trends during these three years also influenced owner and renter costs.

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