A recordnumberofrenters are spending more than half their income on housing, according toareportreleased Tuesday by theHarvardJointCenterfor housingStudies.
Between 2001 and 2006, the number of homeowners paying more than half their income on housing rose to 8.8 million, from 6.5 million, the largest such increase in history, according to the HarvardJointCenterforHousingStudies.
"In the U.S., there's still a strong cultural pull toward homeownership, because in normal times it's always been seen as a way to build net worth and equity, " said Dan McCue, research manager at Harvard's JointCenterforHousingStudies.
The JointCenterforHousingStudies of Harvard University reports that real median household incomes across all age groups under 55 have not increased since 2000.