Working Families Worried About Buying a Home

Half of America’s low- and moderate-income families see down payments and closing costs as major obstacles to buying a home, according to a study released Sunday.

Forty-one percent believe that the lack of affordable homes is a very or fairly big problem, says the study commissioned by the Fannie Mae Foundation, a group that advocates affordable housing.

Researchers commissioned by the foundation surveyed 300 working families--metropolitan-area households with children and at least one employed adult and incomes up to $54,000, the national median. They also polled 1,004 adults nationwide.

“For many working Americans, squeezed between incomes that aren’t rising nearly as fast as housing costs, the result is that more and more worry about finding a home in a community where they are comfortable living,” said Stacey Davis, the foundation’s chief executive and president.

The study found regional differences in the level of concern about affordable housing. Just over half living on the West Coast and 40% in the Northeast think the lack of affordable homes is a big problem, compared with 34% in the South and 28% in the Midwest.