More Jersey Numbers

This is one expensive state. So much money going into housing. It would be interesting if housing costs were differentiated between original mortgages and HELOCs. The HELOCs themselves could be broken down into two categories - those for home improvement (reinvesting) and those that were spent on all else. All else would include medical expenses, credit cards, new cars, education, etc. Although this information signifies that people are barely making it, some of the questions may be why. The renters are self explanatory but not the home owners.

In this article form the Atlantic City Press titled Census supports feeling New Jersey 'Cost of living is out of control' we can see how expensive the cost of housing is in New Jersey. Lets take a look at the graph first -




Here is a look at the article -

U.S. Census figures released today only bolster the perception that the Garden State is the land of high-priced living.

New Jersey homeowners last year paid the second-highest costs in the nation in maintaining a house with a mortgage, or $2,278 per month. Only Californians paid more, at $2,314 per month.

Meanwhile, the median price of a month's rent in New Jersey, including utility and fuel costs, was the third-highest nationwide, at $1,026. Hawaii ($1,194) and California ($1,078) were first and second.

More than 46 percent of New Jersey mortgage holders and nearly half of all renters paid 30 percent or more of their monthly incomes on housing costs, 2007 census data show. Nationwide, only 37.5 percent of homeowners paid 30 percent or more of their income on mortgage and housing costs.

"Everybody has bills, everybody has mortgages ... and it seems like we're at the highest with taxes. We're at a breaking point in New Jersey," said Jerry Cantrell, president of the New Jersey Taxpayers' Association. "It has got to be turned around, or we're going to be headed in a spiraling fiscal mess."

Interesting numbers. These are kind of dated with the huge downturn of the housing market. But it still is shocking to see that New Jersey ranks right after Hawaii and California. Interesting info none the less.