Losing Ground: Report Finds Rising Share of Working Renters with Severe Housing Cost Burdens

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Working renter households fell further behind their homeowner counterparts in housing affordability in 2011, according to a new report from the National Housing Conference’s Center for Housing Policy.

The annual report, Housing Landscape 2013, examined housing cost burdens for working households, defined as households earning 120% or less of the area median income comprised of members working at least 20 hours per week on average. In 2011, roughly one-third of all U.S. owner-occupied households and nearly 60% of all renter households met this definition.

The study reports median incomes, housing costs, and the incidence of severe housing cost burdens among working households for 2011 alone and for 2008-2011 for the nation as a whole, and the incidence of severe housing cost burdens for all states and for 50 metropolitan areas. A severe cost burden is a household paying more than 50% of its income for housing costs.

The report’s findings include that:

  • 26.4% of working renter households had a severe housing cost burden in 2011, up from 25.6% in 2010 for the third straight annual increase. While working renter households saw their median annual income rise by 1.1% to $30,547 in 2011, this was more than offset by a 2% increase in their median monthly rent, to $847.
  • 20.9% of working owner households had a severe housing cost burden in 2011, down from 21.6% in 2010. Owner households benefited from both a 1.3% increase in their median annual income, to $41,955, and a 1.3% reduction in their median monthly housing cost, to $1,024. Owner households benefited during 2008-2011 from falling home prices and mortgage rates.
  • Among all working households, the incidence of severe housing cost burdens in 2011 worsened with lower incomes. The burden was worst for households earning 30% or less of the area median income (AMI), with 81.1% having severe housing cost burdens. The incidence was 41% for those at 31%-50% of AMI; 14.6% for those at 51%-80% of AMI; and 5% for those at 81%-120% of AMI.

(Report: http://tinyurl.com/d9rqmak)

 

Metro Areas With the Highest and Lowest Percentages of Working Households With a Severe Housing Cost Burden in 2011
Highest Lowest
Miami 41% Pittsburgh 14%
Los Angeles 39% Minneapolis 17%
New York 35% Louisville 17%
Orlando 35% Raleigh 17%
San Diego 34% Cincinnati 18%

                   Source: National Housing Conference, Housing Landscape 2013