Publications

Did you know that despite national homeownership rates that are at or near all-time highs in recent years, the rate for working families with children was higher back in 1978 than in 2003?  This report details this disturbing trend and also tracks how the homeownership gap between white and minority working families with children has widened over the past 25 years.

View basis report:
Homeownership and Critical Housing Needs Among Working Families with Children: 1978-2003 Trends and Their Policy Implications, by Dr. Kathryn P. Nelson, Ph.D.

Prepared for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for NAR's April 2006 work force housing summit, this report also will be useful to local Chambers of Commerce or other business groups that are working to raise awareness of and advocate for workforce housing in their communities.

This report combines and updates the findings of the Center’s work on the needs of working families over the last five years. The data presented make clear is that critical housing needs are more pervasive and more persistent than some of us might have thought. Between 1997 and 2003, the country has moved from the boom years of the late 1990s, to the recession of a new decade, to the moderate growth of the past few years. And, the number of working families with critical housing needs has continued to increase through it all. This report seeks to encourage citizens, employers, government-sponsored enterprises and policymakers at all levels of government to act in the interest of one of this country’s greatest sources of strength — working families.

What happens when low- to moderate-income working families have to pay an excessive amount of their income for housing? Clearly, Something’s Gotta Give. This in-depth report examines how unaffordable housing affects other aspects of our quality of life, finding that families who pay more than half of their household budget for housing often reduce expenditures for other essentials such as food, clothing, transportation and healthcare.

This report provides a broad overview of the recommended “role” suggested for foundations and other funders interested in strengthening families’ homeownership opportunities. The report also explains the basis for focusing on strengthening homeownership opportunities for very low-income families, outlines strategies for addressing the principal barriers to homeownership for these families, and provides an overview of the grant-making recommendations related to each of these barriers. Finally, the report concludes with a comprehensive, ranked list of all grant-making recommendations.