It is affecting population shifts, congressional representation and housing demand.
_Population Shifts_
In the article [People Fleeing Pricey Coastal States for South, West [USAToday]](http://articles.news.aol.com/business/article.adp?id=20051222070509990001&%20id=505) an analysis of the census data halfway through the decade, Americans are shifting away from the coasts toward more affordable locations such as the Southwest, Southeast and the Rocky Mountains.
>The quest for affordable housing and jobs
>is driving Americans from expensive coastal
>states to more moderately priced parts of the
> country.
* At its current rate of growth, Florida will exceed the population of New York in 5 years.
* Upstate New York population losses more than offset the boom in New York City.
* California’s gains were more attributable to births than to new residents.
* Virginia gained more population than 9 northeastern states combined due to employment growth.
_Affordability_
A growing number of people are simply [Too Poor for Hot Housing Market, Too Affluent for Buyer Assistance [Washington Post]](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113002248.html)
>Government officials “are scrambling to provide
>”workforce housing” — price-controlled homes for
>families with high five- and even six-figure incomes.”
While urban areas like New York have long provided housing assistance for low and middle income residents, areas like Washington, D.C. have focused on low income. As a result, there are a lot of residents simply priced out of the current boom.
The National Association of Realtors released its affordability index [Housing Affordability Hits 14-Year Low Higher Prices, Rising Rates Hurt Buyers as Creative Loans Lose Some of Their Punch [WSJ]](http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB113522076238329211.html)
“There are signs that the growing costs of homeownership are also beginning to take a toll on the housing market. “There’s a systematic erosion of affordability,” says David Seiders, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders. That decline is “the main reason … the market is starting to cool.””
