How American real estate went bananas

Want to fix America's real estate problem? You have to fix inequality first.

The Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complex in New York in 2006.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Most Americans would probably agree that housing costs are out of control. But they might not realize just how out of control.

Housing experts put the threshold for affordability at one-third of annual household income. If you're spending above that on rent or a mortgage, your housing costs are a serious threat to your financial wellbeing.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.