The State of the Nation's Housing 2001

Housing markets stood up well in 2000 despite growing uncertainty about the direction of the economy. After years of rapidly rising rents and home prices, however, housing affordability remains the greatest concern. While current property owners clearly benefit from this price inflation, prospective homebuyers must come up with more money to make even small downpayments, while renters have to shoulder mounting housing costs. Indeed, nearly one in four owners and four in ten renters now spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing…