Average Worker Still Can’t Afford To Buy A House
New Study from the Center for Housing Policy Details Changes in Homeownership and Rental Affordability for the Highest-Growth Occupations in More Than 200 U.S. Metro Areas
Washington, DC (January 29, 2007) – Homeownership has become slightly more affordable during the current housing downturn, but still remains far out of reach for the majority of workers nationwide, according to Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America. This new study compares housing costs in more than 200 U.S. metropolitan areas with the wages earned by workers in 60 occupations and was released today by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference (NHC). Specifically, when looking at the five highest-growth occupations – registered nurses, retail salespersons, customer service representatives, food preparation workers and office clerks (in order of growth) – based on median annual income, homeownership is unaffordable for all five occupations in the majority of the 201 metro areas studied.