Affordable Housing in the U.S: Introduction

By Shifen Xu| 13 December 2007 | Introduction | Statistics from 1974 to 2006 | Cause and Solution

The United States government defines affordable housing as housing for which the owner pays 30 percent or less of his or her income. Using this standard, nearly 95 million Americans have trouble finding affordable housing.

Owning a decent-quality, affordable home is considered part of the American Dream. However, this dream unfortunately seems as if it can only remain a dream.

While the cost of living is soaring but income has increased only a little, how attainable is the "American Dream"? Can the dream be realized?

Photo: building affordable housing

How Attainable Is the American Dream?

With the help of Habitat for Humanity, Rudha Selvester and her two kids can finally have a Christmas party in their own house this year. She's lucky, while many people are still on the waiting list.

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Chart: Housing affordability in U.S

A Growing Problem

Since 1974, the median price of a single-family house has increased seven-fold, while the median income of a family has only increased to 4.5 times what it used to be. The increase rate of the house price is more severe in recent years.

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