For Floridians, gap grows between home prices, incomes

Home prices may be falling, but many Americans are spending a bigger portion of their incomes on housing, especially in Florida.

The Sunshine State ranked second among all states for its share of severely cost-burdened working families, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Housing Policy.

Thirty percent of the state's working families with low-to-moderate incomes spend more than half of their income on housing.

The only state less affordable was California, where working families pay 32 percent of their income on housing. Nationwide, working families spend about 20 percent of their incomes on housing, according to the report.

The declining rate of affordability threatens "to push more of America's families into financial instability," said Jeffrey Lubell, executive director of the Center for Housing Policy, research arm of the industry-sponsored advocacy group the National Housing Conference.

"Despite the fiscal crisis, there is a pressing need to prioritize policies and programs that reduce housing costs, such as financial incentives for energy-efficient home improvements, mortgage modification programs and federal housing vouchers," Lubell said.

The report tracked affordability of housing - for homeowners and renters - from 2005 to 2008. Working families are considered those who make at or below 120 percent of an area's median income.

The findings are surprising, considering the volatile housing market. Home prices have fallen in Florida and now reach 2003 levels, making home ownership more affordable for many.

So, why then is affordability on the decline? The report points to other conditions that have worsened, such as utility costs, inflation, unemployment and rising mortgage payments.

Also, it says, most homeowners have not moved since home prices declined, so they have not lowered their housing costs by finding a cheaper place to live.

In Florida, two metro areas ranked in the top five in the nation for most burdened, Miami in first and Orlando in fifth. Working families there spent 39 percent and 33 percent, respectively, on housing.