Journal Article

The Burden of High Housing Costs

Abstract: Five years after the official end of the recession, households are still reeling financially. Indeed, while September marked a milestone for the unemployment rate, which dropped below 6 percent for the first time in six years, the median household income at last measure was still languishing at its lowest level in nearly 20 years, after adjusting for inflation. At the same time, rents are rising. Fallout from the housing crisis has slowed the movement into homeownership and driven up the demand for rentals more quickly and sharply than the supply is growing, resulting in tight markets, higher rents, and millions of low-income renters squeezed by housing costs that take up large portions of their monthly incomes.

Keywords: high mortgage costs; middle class; housing crises;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Part of Series: Cascade

Publication Date: 2015-01

Volume: 1

Order Number: 86