Qualified Remodeler Magazine

JUL 2016

Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.

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across the country. But with strong growth among high-income rent- ers, so far most of this new housing is intended for the upper end of the market with rents well out of reach of the typical renter making $35,000 a year. Because of the widening gap between market-rate rents and the amounts many households can afford at the 30-per- cent-of-income standard, the number of cost-burdened renters hit 21.3 million in 2014. Even worse, 11.4 million of these households paid more than half their incomes for housing, a record high. e report finds rent burdens are increasingly common among moderate-income households, especially in the nation's 10 highest-cost housing markets, where three-quarters of renters earning $30,000 to $45,000 and half of those earning $45,000 to $75,000 paid at least 30 percent of their incomes for housing in 2014. Cost burdens are nearly universal among the nation's lowest-income households. Federal assistance reaches only a quarter of those who qualify, leaving nearly 14 million households to find housing in the private market where low-cost units are increasingly scarce. Low- income households with cost burdens face higher rates of housing instability, more often settle for poor-quality housing and have to sacrifice other needs — including basic nutrition, health and safety — to pay for their housing. ese conditions have serious long-term consequences, particularly for children's future achievement. "And compounding these challenges," adds Daniel McCue, senior research associate at the Joint Center, "residential segregation by income has increased. Between 2000 and 2014, the number of people living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty more than doubled to 13.7 million." e report notes that a lack of a strong federal response to the affordability crisis has left state and local governments struggling to expand rental assistance and promote construction of affordable housing in areas with access to better educational and employment opportunities through inclusionary zoning and other local resourc- es. But as Herbert adds, "ese efforts are falling far short of need. Policymakers at all levels of government need to take stock of what can and should be done to expand access to good-quality, affordable housing that is so central to the current well-being and potential contribution of each and every individual." | "Harvard Research" continued from pg. 10 assessment from "not so plentiful" to " jobs hard to get," while only 6 percent shifted their assessment to " jobs plentiful." Moreover, expectations of employment conditions were less favorable. The share of respondents expecting "fewer jobs" over the next six months rose 1.4 percentage points while the share expecting "more jobs" increased by only 0.1 percentage point. The Conference Board also reported the shares of respondents planning to buy a home within six months. Despite the declines in consumer confidence, the share of respondents planning to buy a home within six months rose to 6.0 percent in May, from 5.3 percent in April, indicating a rising confidence in the housing market. Even though monthly data is quite volatile, the trend in the shares of respondents planning to buy a home within six months is steadily upward since the recession. | QualifiedRemodeler.com QR July 2016 15 ardware Arc itectural Your for Fine "Fine Furniture" ® h w w w . m o c k e t t . c o m • 8 0 0 - 5 2 3 - 12 6 9 C A L L F O R E N T R I E S Design Competition Entries are now open for our 31 st Design Competition. Send your design or drawing or model via email, courier or registered mail to contest@mockett.com. Deadline: September 6th 2010 Winner Rick Poliquin, Henderson, NV — Purse Hook 2008 Winner Michael W. Davis, Rockford, MN — Star Grommet 2012 Winner Andrew Elliott, Englewood, FL — Cord Manager 2009 Winner John O'Connor, Griffith, IN — Shelf Support A N N U A L For more info circle 58

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