More than 25% of working renters are spending half their income on housing, according to a new report.

This is the third year the numbers have increased, to a total of 26.4%. That's an increase of 3.6 percentage points from 2008 to 2011. About 20% of working homeowners spent more than half their income on housing in 2011, about the same amount as did in 2008. The rate of "severe housing burden" among both renting and homeowner households rose in 24 states and fell in only one during that three-year period.

The National Center for Housing Policy looked at how much people who are working at least 20 hours a week and who make no more than 120% of the median income for their area are paying for housing. The answer, in short, is a lot.

The homeownership rate fell to its lowest level in 18 years in the first quarter of 2013, according to new census data.

Sixty-five percent of Americans owned their own home, down from 65.4% in the previous quarter and in the first quarter of 2012.

Homeownership reached a high of 69.2% in 2004 and has been falling since then.

They're ba-ack.

We don't mean ghosts. But some may see the ghosts of the real-estate crash past in the reappearance of subprime loans.

According to the Los Angeles Times, more lenders are beginning to offer mortgages to customers with lower credit scores.

Country-music star George Jones' life was celebrated Thursday with a public funeral at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn. Among those who spoke were former first lady Laura Bush, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and a "who's who" of country-music legends.

The singer, known for such ballads as "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "Color of the Blues" and "The One I Loved Back Then," was in the middle of a national farewell tour when he died last week at 81.

His Franklin, Tenn., country estate remains for sale, offered at $8 million.

Some employees of a New York City real-estate firm have taken a major step to show loyalty to their employers: They have had the company logo tattooed on their bodies.

In exchange, the agents of Rapid Realty got their commissions raised from 25% to 40%. The location of the tattoo is up to the employee.

The unusual branding tactic came to light when the company submitted it to Inman News' weekly #madREskillz, a Twitter conversation about offbeat marketing tactics.

Housing prices are continuing to rise, with the latest Case-Shiller numbers showing an increase of 8.5% for the 10-city index and 9.3% for the 20-city index in the past year.

All 20 cities showed an increase in value year over year in January and February, the first time that has happened two months in a row since 2005. Home values are back to where they were in fall 2003.

According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which looked at data through the end of February, prices are down about 30% from the peak in 2006 and up about 9% from the low in March 2012.

The number of contracts signed to buy homes rose slightly in March, but the lack of homes for sale is holding back any significant growth.

The Pending Home Sales Index compiled by the National Association of Realtors was 7% above the level in March 2012, the 23rd straight month of higher year-over-year numbers. Pending sales rose 1.5% from February to March.

"Contract activity has been in a narrow range in recent months, not from a pause in demand but because of limited supply,” Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said in a news release. “Little movement is expected in near-term sales closings, but they should edge up modestly as the year progresses."

The American dream seems to be getting a face lift. While most people surveyed by the MacArthur Foundation still want to own a home, the majority also think you can be successful without being a homeowner.

For generations, owning a home has been the goal and been seen as the path to prosperity. Our country's rate of homeownership has been thought to be a reflection of our prosperity.