Nearly one in three American households spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing and more than one in eight spend upwards of 50 percent, Harvard economists found in 2005.

That doesn't include the trade-offs -- long, gas-guzzling commutes that can add as much as 10 percent to household budgets, crowded living conditions, or poorly repaired and maintained structures as occupants struggle to hold down housing costs.

As home prices continue to rise, the Homeownership Alliance, composed of 20 leading real estate, consumer and mortgage professionals organizations, released a new poll that indicates that inaffordability has reached critical levels for low-income homebuyers.

Specifically, the poll finds that:

• More than half of respondents are concerned that the cost of housing will force their children to attend inadequate schools;

• Nearly half are considering leaving the area in which they live in order to afford desirable housing;

• Nearly one third of families have someone commuting an hour or more.

"The high cost of housing is placing enormous stress on families, affecting every aspect of their lives," said Rick Davis, president of the Homeownership Alliance. "Whether it is education, work-life balance or more general quality of life issues, the poll shows that families are feeling the pressure of high housing costs."

For a majority of low-income Americans, the poll found those making annual incomes of less than $25,000 reported that the high cost of homeownership has forced them to rent rather than buy a house or apartment. Seventy-one percent of all renters feel that the price of homeownership forces them to rent a home rather than buy one.

Another cause for concern is the disparity in home ownership among racial groups, according to the poll. Minority respondents were evenly divided on the question of whether high costs forced them to rent rather than buy, while just 28 percent of whites reported high housing costs as the reason they rent. In addition, nearly 45 percent of minorities reported commutes of an hour or more, compared to only 28 percent among whites.

Housing affordability for lower-income families has deteriorated over the past several years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent American Housing Survey, more than 70 percent of families with incomes in the lowest quintile spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing, and 46 percent spend more than half of their income on home mortgage or rental payments. (For more information about the American Housing Survey, go to census.gov.)

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index has shown a decline of affordability across the national marketplace from an index of 63.7 to 52.0 over the past three years. The composite National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index slipped from 133.9 to 132.6 in the same period.

Both the Home Builders and the Realtors utilize sophisticated economic analyses to produce affordability indices. The indices are broad measures that include such factors as income, housing costs and mortgage rates. For instance, when housing costs fall, homeownership becomes more affordable.

Among the regions in the United States, the impact of higher homeownership costs are most profound in the Northeast and the West, where 54 percent of those polled agree that costs may cause them to move to another area. Only 41 percent in the South and Midwest agree.

"Affordability isn't a crisis just for the 28 million households in the bottom half of the income stream. It's also impacting middle-income households. From 2000 to 2003, the number of middle-income households with severe housing cost burdens shot up by nearly one million," says the State of the Nation's Housing 2005," and conditions continue to worsen.

In fact, the cost of owning has exceeded the cost of renting by 30 percent nationally, making renting a bargain in some areas.

Rising interest rates, while still extremely affordable historically, are beginning to crowd homebuyers. In addition to coming up with more for the down payment on a home that costs 15 percent more than last year, buyers are paying about $100 more monthly in new loans acquired at the end of 2005 than in 2003.

Homeowners who are impacted by higher property taxes aren't necessarily thrilled with rising home prices, particularly in places like Texas which tax property owners but go easy on businesses.

Published: December 19, 2005

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.