Posted on 05/13/2003 10:49:59 AM PDT by Moosejaw
Home ownership embodies the American Dream. It is something to which most of us aspire. By and large, we do pretty well as a nation in fulfilling this dream.
U.S. Census Bureau data show the home ownership rate in America stood at 67.9% in 2002, a figure that's been steadily trending higher since 1982.
One wouldn't guess this by reading the headline of the May 5 announcement from the National Housing Conference, which stated, "New National Data Reveals Annual Salaries for Five Vital Community Occupations Fall Short of the $50,000 Necessary to Own a Home."
In even more dire language, the announcement claims, "None of America's elementary school teachers, police officers, licensed practical nurses, retail salespersons or janitors would qualify to purchase a median priced home based on median income." (The matter of classifying janitors and retail sales folk as "vital community occupations," is a topic saved for another day.)
This was an alarming pronouncement, but cutting through the lingo is instructive. As a mathematical term, 'median' means half of the people in these professions earn less than the median income, while half earn more. Similarly, half of the houses on the market cost less than the median; the other half is more expensive.
Just to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding something, I chatted with Barbara Lipman, the research director for the Center for Housing Policy, an NHC affiliate that conducted the research for the study.
The $50,000 figure in the headline is a lot of money for someone new to the workforce, so falling back on my experience with home ownership and that of my family, friends and peers, I asked if age or work experience were considered in the study.
"No," said Lipman. "We rely on the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the wage information and they report median wages."
Without qualifying the data based on age or length of time in the workforce, it would seem the validity of any conclusions would be questionable. "Obviously, an entry level person, a younger person, is likely to earn below the median," admitted Lipman.
Obviously. According to the Census Bureau, the number of people who achieve homeownership rises dramatically during the years when most Americans begin to build their families and careers, with 2002 home ownership rates approximating the national average by the time people reach their late 30s.
Home ownership among those younger than 25 was 23% in 2002, but that figure rose to 65.2% by the time people hit age 39. This coincidence of age and income and home ownership is no accident; it's the way the world works.
Perhaps the NHC study factored in marital status. Given the considerable increase in home ownership among married couples compared with their unmarried peers, it's not unreasonable to think that such data might be considered, particularly when proclaiming that "none," of the grade school teachers, LPNs, janitors, beat cops and sales clerks "would qualify to purchase a median priced home based on median income."
Alas, data on marital status was not considered either. "They don't break it out that way," Lipman explained. "They just show the total number of people employed in the occupation. It's not broken down by family."
A cursory glance at the Census Bureau data shows a home ownership rate of 83.1% among married couple families in 2002 - 22% higher than the overall national average for home ownership.
The impact of marriage on home ownership is even more significant when compared with single homeowners. The rate of homeownership among married households last year was 54% higher than the national average among single women and 69% higher than the average among single men.
Given the available data, the carefully crafted phrase that "none" of the nation's workers in five selected occupations can afford "a median priced home based on median income," is absolutely correct. It's also absolutely deceptive, threatening to undermine the NHC's credibility and raise suspicions about motivation.
Indeed, buried in the supporting data supplied by the NHC are statistics showing the estimated national median family income for 2001 was $52,500, while the income needed to purchase a home priced at the national median was $49,703.
Based on this data set, the NHC could just as easily have issued a news release announcing, "All of America's families would qualify to purchase a home based on the national median home price and the national median family income."
While this is certainly a more optimistic appraisal of America's housing situation, it's just as bogus as what the NHC is shopping around as news.
Scott Hogenson is executive editor of CNSNews.com.
Equity in homes is at an all time low
The American Dream is to live in a stand-alone home, on a bit of land. By and large, this is how we live. Because our system works.
We're not as Socialist as Europe !
Yippee.
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