A weekend topic starting with KSL in Utah. "Jim Wood, Ivory-Boyer Senior Fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, said housing prices in Salt Lake County have climbed 80 percent since 2005. 'That (housing price increase) includes a period in which we had 16 continuous quarters of decline in housing prices,' he said. Among the concerns surrounding such robust growth is the fact that housing prices are increasing much faster than household income, he noted."

"'Affordability is a really serious issue,' Wood said. 'It's really difficult because our wage rates and income just hasn't grown. We're getting income growth of 2 percent and housing growth of 5 percent, and if we lose the advantage of low-interest rates, that makes it much more difficult for (young people) to buy.'"

"'Wealth creation really comes from homeownership for most households' he said. 'The median net worth of a homeowner is about $231,000, while the net worth of a renter is about $5,000.'"

The Visalia Times Delta in California. "The average home price in Visalia is about $280,000 after accounting for new construction and ongoing developments sprawling around the city. 'These newer homes will likely sell for between $300,000 and $380,000,' said Mike Gutierrez, co-owner of Visalia's largest real estate firm. 'They target mainly upper-middle-class residents — couples who work as nurses or correctional officers, for example — who have built up enough equity in their first homes to buy something nicer.'"

"While Visalia's more prosperous residents enjoy some of the lowest housing prices in the state, local affordable housing experts point out that the area also suffers among the highest rates of poverty in California. One in five Visalians live in poverty, according to the latest Census Bureau data, and across the county it's closer to one in four."

"Last week, the Kings and Tulare Homeless Alliance preliminary registered close to 400 homeless at the Anthony Community Center during their annual point-in-time count. As a Realtor and Visalia Emergency Aid Council board member, Brian Gilbert is a firsthand witness to both Tulare County's immense poverty and relative prosperity."

"'It is our responsibility (as Realtors) to find ways to get people into homes — to eliminate those barriers-to-entry that keep many would-be first-time buyers away,' he said. Gilbert acknowledges that's easier said than done. 'How do we get out of being one of the poorest counties in the state to become prosperous?' Gilbert said. 'Otherwise, we'll be stuck in a morass of poverty.'"

The Arizona Republic. Administration of Resources and Choices, or ARC, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-certified housing counseling agency, provides free housing counseling to Arizona residents regardless of whether they are facing foreclosure or want the tools to enter the housing market as a prequalified home buyer."

"Though the housing crisis has largely subsided, Debbie Chandler, executive director of ARC, said the need for housing counseling and foreclosure assistance is still there. 'The demand is certainly less than it was, but the market is changing,' Chandler said. 'People are beginning to buy houses and the economy has recovered to some degree.'"

"She said many homeowners who are getting back into the market are buying homes barely within their means and, following the recession, have little reserves for when financial circumstances shift. ARC housing counselor Ines Huerta-Galarza said they are starting to see more homeowners late on payments who have only been in their homes for a few years."

"'Today, the minute something happens — someone loses their job or the car breaks down — there are no reserves to make sure they will be able to continue making payments on their homes,' Huerta-Galarza said."