WHY HABITAT?

Statistics

• About 95 million people, one third of the nation, have housing problems including a high-cost burden, overcrowding, poor quality shelter and homelessness. (NLIHC: 2004)
• There are almost 16 million Americans paying 50 percent or more of their income for housing.
• One in three American households spend more than 30 percent of income on housing, and one in seven spends more than 50 percent. (JCHS: 2006)
• There is not a single county in the country where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford even a one-bedroom apartment at what HUD determines to be the Fair Market Rent. (NLIHC: 2006)
• 2.2 million subprime home loans made in recent years have already failed or will end in foreclosure, costing homeowners as much as $164 billion. (CRL: 2006)
• Predatory payday lending now costs American families $4.2 billion per year in excessive fees. (CRL: 2006)

Research Findings

• The number of low-income families that lack safe and affordable housing is related to the number of children that suffer from asthma, viral infections, anemia, stunted growth and other health problems. About 21,000 children have stunted growth attributable to the lack of stable housing; 10,000 children between the ages of 4 and 9 are hospitalized for asthma attacks each year because of cockroach infestation at home; and more than 180 children die each year in house fires attributable to faulty electrical heating and electrical equipment. (Sandel, et al: 1999)
• Children in bad housing have increased risk of viral or bacterial infections and a greater chance of suffering mental health and behavioral problems. (Harker: 2006)
• Housing deprivation leads to an average of 25 percent greater risk of disability or severe ill health across a person’s lifespan. Those who suffer housing deprivation as children are more likely to suffer ill health in adulthood, even if they live in non-deprived conditions later in life. (Marsh, et al.: 2000)

Housing Has a Positive Impact on Children

• Children of homeowners are more likely to stay in school (by 7-9 percent) and daughters of homeowners are less likely to have children by age 18 (by 2-4 percent). (Green and White: 1996)
• Owning a home leads to a higher quality home environment, improved test scores in children (9 percent in math and 7 percent in reading), and reduced behavioral problems (by 3 percent). (Haurin, Parcel, and Haurin: 2002)
• Children who live in bad housing have lower educational attainment and a greater likelihood of being impoverished and unemployed as adults. (Harker: 2006)

Homeownership Builds Wealth

• Owning a home, especially for lower-income households, is an important means of wealth accumulation. For low-income minority families, median average annual housing wealth appreciation is $1,712 whereas there is no non-housing wealth accumulation. This wealth is achieved both through equity and forced savings resulting from mortgage repayment. (Boehm and Schlottmann: 2004)
• Homeownership increases intergenerational wealth accumulation through improved educational achievement in children, which leads to greater earnings when these children enter the workforce. (Boehm and Schlottmann: 2002)
• Homeowners live in larger, higher quality units; they enjoy better housing services with costs that fall over time; and they stand to make considerable returns if they remain owners for a long time. (Rohe, Van Zandt, and McCarthy: 2001)

Housing Strengthens Communities

• Homeowners are more likely to know their U.S. representative (by 10 percent) and school board head by name (by 9 percent), and are more likely to vote in local elections (by 15 percent) and work to solve local problems (by 6 percent). (DiPasquale and Glaeser: 1998)
• Homeowners are more likely to be satisfied with their homes and neighborhoods, and are more likely to volunteer in civic and political activities. (Rohe, Van Zandt, and McCarthy: 2000)
• Resident ownership is strongly related to better building security and quality, and to lower levels of crime. (Saegert and Winkel: 1998)