Living conditions

The nation’s homeowners paid a median of $1,000 in monthly housing costs in 2009, compared with $808 for renters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Renters usually paid a higher percentage of their household income on these costs than did owners (31% compared with 20%).

These new figures come from the 2009 American Housing Survey, the definitive source of information on the quality of housing in the United States. Statistics are provided for apartments, single-family homes, manufactured housing, new construction and vacant housing units. The report is issued every two years by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Topics covered in the report include the presence of air conditioning, crowding, housing costs, special living services offered to older residents, safety equipment present, type of heating fuel used, satisfaction with the neighborhood, cost of utilities and size of the home. The survey also covers the demographic characteristics of the housing units’ occupants.

SURVEY FINDINGS
• About 70% of respondents rate their homes an 8, 9, or 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 28% giving them the "best" rating of 10. Residents of new construction tend to rate their homes even more highly: 84% gave them between an 8 and 10, and 45% gave a perfect 10 rating.

• More than two-thirds of residents (68%) rated their neighborhood highly with 25% giving it a "best" rating. People living in newly built homes rate their neighborhoods especially highly: 75% (rated highly) and 35% (rated best), respectively.

• The median year housing units were built was in 1974, with owner-occupied units being slightly newer (median of 1975 compared with 1971 for renter-occupied units).

• The median purchase price of homes was $107,500; for a newly constructed home, it was $240,000.

• 32% of owner-occupied units were owned free and clear, 66% had a regular and/or home equity mortgage and 2% had only a line-of-credit.

• The most important consideration for recent movers in choosing their homes was financial (28%), followed by room layout/design (15%) and size of home (10%).

• The most common reasons recent movers had for choosing their neighborhoods were convenience to job (20%), convenience to friends or relatives (14%), look/design of neighborhood (10%) and the house itself (10%).

• About half of homes (48%) had a separate dining room and three in 10 (30%) reported two or more living rooms or recreation rooms. About one-third (35%) had a usable fireplace.

• Most homes had three or more bedrooms (64%), with the percentage even higher in new homes (80%). Additionally, about half of homes (51%) had two or more bathrooms, with the percentage even higher (89%) in new homes.