The Times today features a special report on housing, with a graphic that I found particularly pertinent.
In the past five years, real hourly wages have grown by only 2 percent while the median home price has increased by 52 percent. Though homeownership levels are currently high, a good portion is due to the use of highly leveraged mortgage products, a risky proposition in a rising interest-rate environment.
King County has experienced a comparable run-up in prices, and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows that county household income actually declined from 2003 to 2004.
The consequences of these market dynamics are dramatic. According to the nonprofit Center for Housing Policy, more than 14 million households in the country — one out of every eight, or 12.5 percent — now pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent or mortgage payments and/or live in physically dilapidated housing. In King County, it’s higher — 14 percent.
Does anyone think that is a good sign? Bubble or not, housing is becoming more and more of a problem. Is it the federal government’s fault, or is it on them to “fix it”? The article attempts to tackle these questions.
(Bruce Katz & Michael Stegman, Seattle Times, 09.22.2005)