WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- Home ownership for working U.S. families is at its lowest rate since 1978 as salaries failed to keep pace with costs, the Center for Housing Policy says.
Overall, however, U.S. home ownership hit a record 68.3 percent in 2003 -- the latest numbers available.
Some 59.6 percent of working families were homeowners in 2003, a drop of nearly 3 percentage points from 1978. Minority families' lot was even worse at a stagnant 45-percent home ownership rate.
The center blamed housing cost increases that have far outstripped wages, higher healthcare bills and an increase in single-parent households for the trend.
"You need a youthful workforce to replace people who are retiring," the center's Barbara Lipman told USA Today. "It's an important part of economic vitality."
