What Percentage Of Your Income Goes To Housing Costs?

A recent report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed that as of 2012, an enormous number of NY residents were dedicating over 30% of their respective incomes to housing costs–a percentage considered the “affordability threshold” by the US government. Over a third of homeowners and over a half of renters (totaling over three million households statewide) were found to be living above the threshold, putting a strain on other necessary expenses.

This included 46.7% of owner households, and 52.5% of rentals in Kings County, putting Brooklyn in the top quarter for unaffordable rentals and placing our borough at number one for unaffordable owner-occupied homes.

“This unfortunate trend has troubling implications for our economic growth and for New Yorkers’quality of life,” the Comptroller says in a related press release, which delves into the amount of New Yorkers statewide (about 28% of renters and 15% of homeowners) who use over half of their income on rent or a mortgage/property taxes. It says:

Housing affordability is affected by both housing costs and income levels. After adjusting for inflation, median monthly housing costs in New York rose by 18.6 percent for renters and 9.9 percent for homeowners from 2000 to 2012. During that time, homeowners’median household income declined 1.6 percent and renters’median household income dropped 7.1 percent in constant dollars. Property taxes, one factor in overall housing costs, rose 12.3 percent statewide after adjusting for inflation…

The report found that many New Yorkers are feeling pressure from a combination of stagnant or declining real income, as well as increasing housing costs. A combination of factors including comparatively slow economic growth over time, a rising property tax burden, and limited housing supply in many areas of the state contribute to the increasing challenge New Yorkers face in finding affordable housing.

As the press release is also chock full of hopeful quotes from New York politicians and affordable housing advocates, we reached out to Councilmember Eugene regarding how he proposes to keep housing affordable in District 40. However, we have not received a response. Here’s hoping this doesn’t become the norm.

How much is it costing you to live in Ditmas Park, and do you find the prices cut into your other necessities or quality of life?

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