Most Americans still believe the country remains in a housing crisis, according to a new study from the MacArthur Foundation.
A majority of Americans, about 61%, believe the U.S. is "still in the middle" of the housing crisis, according to a
Both figures are improvements over last year's results, but they still indicate there is widespread pessimism among consumers about housing affordability, the group said.
"Decent housing at an affordable price remains a challenge for an increasing number of Americans, even after the recession has formally ended," Julia Stasch, the foundation's president, said in a news release.
"It is disturbing that people feel the American dream and prospects for social mobility are receding," she said.
In another key finding from the survey, more than half the public, or about 55%, said they have had to make at least one sacrifice or tradeoff during the past three years to afford their monthly mortgage or rent payments. To cope with the pressures of housing costs, 21% said they had to get another job or work additional hours, 17% stopped saving for retirement, 14% accumulated credit-card debt and 12% cut back on healthy food.
The survey was conducted by telephone between April 27 and May 5.
