Long thought to be largely an urban problem, the inability of working families to find decent and affordable housing knows no boundaries, according to a report based on newly revised government data.

The study prepared by the Center for Housing Policy found that nearly as many low and moderate-income families who pay more than half their incomes to put roofs over their heads or live in sub-standard housing reside in the suburbs as in the central cities.

"Critical housing needs are no just a city problem'," said consultant Ann Schnare, a housing consultant and president of the research group. "And home owners are just as likely to be affected as renters."

The report is the third in a series intended to focus attention on what housing advocates argue is a largely overlooked segment of the population. The Center is a non-profit subsidiary of the National Housing Conference, a coalition of affordable housing experts from both the public and private sectors.

"Working families often fall through the cracks," said Schnare. "In most instances, their incomes are much too high to qualify for the limited amount of housing assistance that is currently available, but far too low to benefit from favorable tax treatment available to home owners."

Last year's study detailed the difficulties teachers, policemen, fire fighters, store clerks and janitors have in finding affordable housing. And this year's report found that the inability of all working families to find decent quarters is "stubbornly consistent." The study found that although the number of families with at least one worker increased between 1997 and 1999, the number with severe housing problems did not change.

Moreover, while the number of marginally employed households earning less than the equivalent of one full-time wage declined during the study period, the number of families earning a full-time minimum wage grew 28 percent, from 3 million to 3.9 million.

"Having a job does not guarantee a family a decent place to live at an affordable cost," said the study.

Cost is the culprit for nearly eight out of 10 families with critical problems. But one in five is driven into severely inadequate dwellings, and about 2 percent are forced to contend with both high prices and substandard conditions.

As could be expected, high-cost housing markets like Boston, Chicago and Oakland, Calif., are "hot-spots" for housing woes, the report noted. But while 1.7 million families with critical needs reside in the central cities, 1.5 million live in the suburbs.

"Conventional wisdom suggests that problems are concentrated among renters in urban areas...but the reality is very different," Schnare said.

Most likely to experience problems are households in which only one person is employed, those headed be a female and racial and ethnic minorities.

Although having children is not a distinguishing feature, the number of children seems to be: More than a third of households with a severe problem have three or more youngsters.

To cope with unaffordable housing, families adopt a number of strategies, the most common of which is to live in overcrowded conditions and share the cost, especially in high price markets.

Others endure longer commutes, take in boarders, take out home equity loans, refinance a mortgage or put off performing needed maintenance and repairs. But each of those tactics, the report points out, are likely to exact other costs.

Published: April 10, 2002

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.