"Low-Income Workers Seeing Housing Woes"

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pay raises for many low- and moderate-income jobs generally aren't keeping up with soaring housing costs, with workers like janitors and sales clerks most often feeling the pinch, said a study being released Tuesday by an affordable housing coalition.

In 2003, the median salary in those two occupations was over $18,000 a year, up 3 percent for janitors and 6 percent for clerks, the report from the Center for Housing Policy said. The median monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in 2003 was $791, up 10 percent from $721.

Generally, housing is considered affordable if a family pays no more than 30 percent of its income. The study of 136 of the nation's largest housing markets found that in only 25 markets did both janitors and clerks make enough money to comfortably afford the rent if their families were relying on only one income.

Elementary school teachers, police officers and nurses typically won't have the same problem when renting, although they do encounter similar affordability problems when buying homes, the study found.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040720/D83UISHO0.html

[demnan]

1. Rents go up every year whether salaries do or not

and don't get me started on the housing market! After purchasing a small 2 bedroom condo in the suburbs I can tell you that even a good single income is hardly adequate for more than what I purchased in the D.C metropolitan area. I'm in the outer D.C. suburbs - 30 miles out. Inside the Capitol Beltway you can expect to pay twice as much and get an older property perhaps without central air.

That said, once you go through the process of buying the home it's the best experience you can have! And you have a little money maker that you're living in.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Wish I could trade in this trailer for a house, but it isn't going

to happen any time soon, I think.

[Laughing Mirror]

3. Good working people who are backbone of community

Have to move farther and farther from the community they serve, just to have a roof over their heads. This is not good for the community, yet nobody wanting to make any money is disposed to build cheap houses for them.

A sales clerk and a janitor will never have a two-bedroom apartment unless their spouse or roommate or children are also bringing in money.

Affording housing for poor and working people has disappeared in the centers of all large cities I've been in.

[sandnsea]

4. 25%-28%

That's what lenders prefer, including taxes and homeowners insurance. I remember my mom worrying about this 20 years ago when she was selling real estate because in the 60's housing was normally no more than 25% of income. They just change the numbers and people wonder why they can't get ahead when they meet the so-called norms of the day.