Rising Housing Costs Casts Long Shadow over U.S. Car Industry

Contemplating yesterdays 2006 Census report on the average Americans housing costs (via The New York Times), it appears that U.S. automakers fears about the effects of the housing market on car sales are far from greatly exaggerated. The stats reveal that half of U.S. renters and more than one third of mortgage holders spent at least 30 percent of their gross income on housing. Thats up two percent or 1.5 million households from 05. A staggering fourteen percent of mortgage-holders spent at least half their income on housing in 2006, up from 13 percent from the year previous. As The Grey Lady says, "The rising housing burden cuts into the money people have available for other expenses and anticipated the rise in foreclosures." To see how badly this trend will hit the auto industry, keep an eye on California sales. The Eureka state tops the list of mortgage borrowers forking over more than 30 percent of their income for housing.

12-09-2007 17:28:10 | The Truth About Cars