forbidden words: housing affordability
This is one of the terms you can’t say in the Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.
housing
housing¹ noun
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any shelter, lodging, or dwelling place.
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houses collectively.
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the act of one who houses or puts under shelter.
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the providing of houses for a group or community.
the housing of an influx of laborers. -
anything that covers or protects.
Synonyms: sheath, shield, casing, covering -
Machinery., a fully enclosed case and support for a mechanism.
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Carpentry., the space made in one piece of wood, or the like, for the insertion of another.
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Nautical.
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Also called bury. the portion of a mast below the deck.
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Also called bury. the portion of a bowsprit aft of the forward part of the stem of a vessel.
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the doubling of an upper mast.
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a niche for a statue
housing² noun
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a covering of cloth for the back and flanks of a horse or other animal, for protection or ornament.
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housings, the trappings on a horse.
Word History and Origins
Origin of housing1
First recorded in 1350–1400; house + -ing 1 ( def. )
Origin of housing2
First recorded in 1690–1700; compare earlier house, Middle English hous(e), houc(e) in same sense, from Old French houce, from unrecorded Germanic hulfti- (compare Medieval Latin hultia ), akin to Middle Dutch hulfte “cover for bow and arrow,” Middle High German hulft “covering”; -ing 1 added by association with house, housing 1
from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025d). In Dictionary.com.
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affordability
affordability noun
the quality of being affordable.
from — Definition of affordability. (n.d.). In dictionary.com.
affordable
adj
that can be afforded; believed to be within one’s financial means.
attractive new cars at affordable prices.
noun
Usually affordables. items, expenses, etc., that one can afford.
a variety of affordables for your gift list.
Other Word Forms
- affordability noun
- affordably adverb
- unaffordability noun
- unaffordable adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of affordable1
First recorded in 1865–70; afford + -able
from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025d). In Dictionary.com.
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Habitat for Humanity
What is housing affordability?
Families across the United States are paying too high a price to cover the cost of home. Rents and homeownership costs are skyrocketing while wages are not keeping pace.
Today, 20.3 million U.S. households pay over half of their income on a place to live. That means nearly 1 in 6 families are denied the stability that safe, decent and affordable housing provides.
At the most basic level, what makes a home affordable comes down to simple math. Subtract your monthly rent or mortgage from your take-home pay, and you should have enough money left over for life’s necessities.
Too many people are having to make tough choices, the result of two major trends — lagging incomes for low- and moderate-income families, and the soaring cost of housing, says Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “You look at this and say, ‘Is it a housing problem, or is it an income problem?’ I would say it is both.”
Today’s real average wage — after accounting for inflation — has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago, according to Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, the Joint Center for Housing Studies notes that both the median home price and median rent has risen faster than overall inflation over the past 25 years — 41% and 20% respectively.
Growth rates in home prices and rent vs. household income in the U.S. since 1960
Source: 1960-2000 Decennial Censuses and 2008, 2010 and 2017 American Community Surveys
Experts generally say that the maximum a family should pay for housing is 30% of their income. Any more than 30%, and a family is considered cost-burdened, which means they often find themselves making tough choices when it comes to other needs.
Ebony understands those impossible choices. The U.S. Army veteran and mother of three used to be riddled with anxiety because her rent commanded almost all of her monthly income.
Because Ebony had nothing left over for the utilities, car payment, health insurance and child care, she was forced to engage in a game of bill shuffling. “I would pay some bills one month, others the next,” she says. “I had to get creative with meals and went to three or four food banks.”
After partnering with Habitat, her mortgage is 30% of her income. She can now pay her other bills on time and even has been able to put some money away. “Having a house that I can afford allows the chance of living the kind of life I always wanted for my kids. I feel like everyone should have the chance to feel the way that I feel.”
More families should know that feeling.
“Families should not have to live in fear of choosing between paying for a roof over their head or paying for food or medicine or clothing for their kids.”— David M. Dworkin
“The scale of this problem is far too large for any one organization to address on its own,” says Adrienne Goolsby, Habitat for Humanity International’s vice president for U.S. and Canada. “We are ready to join with other stakeholders at the local, state and national level to address the unrelenting crisis in housing affordability.”
“Families should not have to live in fear of choosing between paying for a roof over their head or paying for food or medicine or clothing for their kids,” says David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for people of all income levels to live in safe, decent affordable homes. “Affordable housing allows families and individuals to have the opportunity to be empowered to choose where they live. Where our children go to school and how much of our day is spent commuting are choices that should not be dictated by our economic circumstances.”
We agree wholeheartedly. When the cost of home is your family’s future, the cost is too high. When the cost of home is any family’s future, that’s something none of us can afford.
Through our Cost of Home campaign, we mobilized local organizations, partners, volunteers and community members across the country to find solutions and to help create policies that allowed 9.5+ million individuals to have access to affordable homes.
Together, we can make the cost of home something we all can afford. Join us!
from — What is housing affordability? | Cost of Home. (n.d.). Cost of Home.
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The housing affordability crisis isn’t just crushing millennials—it’s squeezing out buyers in their 40s, 50s, and beyond, too
New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows a surprising phenomenon: The average age of first-time homebuyers getting a mortgage has barely budged over the past two decades, remaining in the mid-thirties. At first glance, that doesn’t seem to make sense. You would think that given the steep rise in home prices versus incomes, it’s primarily the young who delay purchases as they get stuck in rentals waiting for paychecks and banking savings. The evidence says, not so. Expanding on the New York Fed’s findings, a new study from the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center concludes that the same problem is haunting would-be buyers at all age levels. “When purchasing power declines, fewer people buy homes at 28—but also fewer purchase at 38 or 48,” writes the author, Housing Center codirector Ed Pinto. “The result is a broad-based drop in homeownership.”
The AEI also points to a disturbing trend that amounts to the de-democratization of American housing. “The less-rich are getting squeezed out, and that trend is uniform across all age groups,” Pinto told Fortune.
The overriding problem is well known. It’s the notorious affordability issue, and as Pinto points out, the crux isn’t excessively high mortgage rates: That monthly nut is now about average compared with the historic norm. It’s the huge divergence between median home prices and household incomes that has stymied would-be buyers; what families are paying for the cape or colonial as a multiple of their paychecks has jumped from 4.3 in 2003 and 5.1 in 2017 to nearly 6.0 today. The surprise is that all age groups are getting pounded about equally. Mining data from the Census Bureau and its American Community Survey, the AEI shows that from 2000 to 2022, the homeownership rate in every age cohort dropped in the 8% to 10% range. For 35-year-olds, it went from 60% to 50%, for those age 40 from 70% to 59%, and for the 50 contingent from 78% to 69%. As for 30- to 39-year-olds, the big first-time group, the figures more or less mirrored those across the entire spectrum, falling from 60% on average to under 50%.
The AEI also calculates the share of house-key holders by income, specifically for that “first-timers” group. As of 2022, only one-quarter of families earning $50,000 to $75,000 owned homes, rising to just 30% in the $75,000 to $100,000 tier. By comparison, 70% to 80% of households making $175,000 and up have captured the long-standing American Dream. Pinto reckons that in each age category about evenly, the more affluent households are claiming a bigger and bigger share of the ownership pie. “As the pool of first-time buyers gets smaller across the board, the marginal families get excluded across the board,” he says. Hence, though overall homeownership has fallen, it’s those income-stressed households, not the well-to-do, that have suffered most of the drop.
Pinto explores the scenarios that could restore lost affordability
Pinto notes that the market has already entered a gradual correction phase following the blowout that peaked in early 2022. The AEI tagged home-price appreciation (HPA) at just 1% year over year in March, and projects slight declines for 2026, 2027, and 2028. “We’re seeing slow progress,” he says. “As long as prices are flat and incomes are rising 3% a year, affordability is improving.” But he adds that the gap is still so large that if nothing else changes, the lower- and middle-income families stuck on the sidelines could get locked out for years to come. Today, America suffers from a severe supply shortage. The main culprit: a dearth of lots allowed for starter homes permitted under state and city zoning laws and regimes. To relieve those bottlenecks, Pinto advocates state and municipal programs that moderately reduce lot sizes. That would allow builders to erect far more small starter homes. The reduction in land costs and the reduced square footage combined, he says, would lower prices by 15% to 20%.
No, contrary to legend, it’s not mostly the young who are getting excluded from landing a yard and three bedrooms. It’s families at all ages. It’s time for America to adopt supply-boosting policies to help all potential buyers get into a home.
from — Tully, S. (2026, April 22). The housing affordability crisis isn’t just crushing millennials—it’s squeezing out buyers in their 50s and older, too | Fortune. Fortune.
April 24, 2026
Hudson Valley, NY
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