A recent study conducted by Lending Tree brought the housing affordability crunch into focus and identified the demographic groups most likely to be impacted. If lenders and LOs are going to effectively serve potential borrowers, understanding the scope of the affordability crisis is an essential part of the puzzle.
Here’s a closer look:
• The study found that nearly 18 million owner-occupied U.S. households are “housing cost-burdened” which is defined as those spending at least 31% of their monthly income on housing costs. These expenses include mortgage payments, insurance and utilities.
• Hawaii, California and New Jersey top the list for states with the largest share of housing cost-burdened households, averaging 29.98%. West Virginia, Indiana and North Dakota are the least housing cost-burdened states, averaging 14.97%.
• Married couple households without children younger than 18 living at home are least likely to be housing cost-burdened with a national average of 14.47%. Single women homeowners with children younger than 18 are most likely to be housing cost-burdened, averaging 43.31% nationwide.
For additional details, check out Demetria Lester’s article in theMReport here: Share of Cost-Burdened Households Headed by Single Moms Hits 43%.