Rental Housing Costs Increased 28% Since 2000

"The cost of affordable rental housing has risen 28 percent in the past seven years, far outpacing the wages of those who need it most, according to a new report released Tuesday.

'Out of Reach,' the annual report of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), found that housing affordability is most difficult for minimum-wage earners but is also tough for those who earned the median hourly wage ($14.57) last year.

In 2006, what the NLIHC calls the 'national housing wage' rose to $16.31 for a two-bedroom rental, from $15.78 last year. That is the hourly wage required to afford the rent and utilities of a modest market-rate rental home without having to spend more than 30 percent of one's gross income, a commonly accepted measure of housing affordability."

Thanks to Danilo Pelletiere