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The Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES -
The squeeze on Americans got tighter over the last decade as housing expenses -- mortgage or rent, utilities, property taxes, insurance, maintenance and the like -- far outpaced the growth in incomes, a new study shows.Overall, yearly housing costs rose by an average of $5,314, or nearly 65 percent, between 1996 and 2006, according the report released by the Center for Housing Policy. Incomes did not keep pace, climbing only 36.3 percent for homeowners and 31.4 percent for renters.In 2007, more than 7.5 million people -- almost 15 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage -- were spending half of their income or more just on their mortgage, property taxes and insurance, according to U.S. Census data released last month.Traditionally, the government considers a homeowner spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing to be financially burdened.
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Staff writer Jonathan B. Cox
