Survey Shows Housing Costs Taking Bigger Bite

The number of working families unable to afford homes in the communities in which they work rose dramatically between 1997 and 1999, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America and the National Housing Conference. At a housing conference in San Diego, the two organizations released results of the latest American Housing Survey, which shows that the number of families nationwide who earn 80% to 120% of the area median income and use more than half of those salaries on housing rose to 691,000 in 1999, up 74% from 398,000 in 1997. The situation is worse for renters, according to the survey: Those making between 50% and 80% of the area median income who spend half their salaries or more on housing went up 90% from 1997 to 1999.