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More than one in four renters has to spend at least 50 percent of their total household income to pay for housing and utilities, according a new analysis of Census data. That number is up 26 percent from 2007, shooting up to 11.25 million.

The findings were revealed on Friday by Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit that helps finance affordable housing.

“It means making really difficult trade-offs,” said Angela Boyd, a vice president at Enterprise Community Partners. “There are daily financial dilemmas about making their rent or buying groceries.”

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The cost of newly constructed homes in the U.S. has risen drastically over the last several years, and it’s no wonder; because as the Wall Street Journal points out, the driver is simple: houses are getting bigger.

According to CoreLogic, new-home prices rose 18 percent between 2010 and 2013, and much of that can be credited to the growing size of homes, as well as the amenities – like fireplaces and walk-in closets – that becoming increasingly standard.

Interestingly, the average new home last year sold for $343,000. But if builders had stuck to the size and amenity standards that were prevalent in the 1970s, the average price would have been closer to $199,000.

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Forget gold and stocks – real estate in Manhattan, Vancouver and London is where the wealthiest citizens of the world are now choosing to invest their riches.

“The two greatest stores of wealth internationally today is contemporary art….. and I don’t mean that as a joke, I mean that as a serious asset class,” explained Larry Fink, creator of BlackRock Inc. “And two, the other store of wealth today is apartments in Manhattan, apartments in Vancouver, in London.”

As previously reported, the average sales price of an apartment in Manhattan is $1.73 million, with Rupert Murdoch’s Madison Avenue triplex taking the cake with a current asking price of $72 million.

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The Labor Department announced on Thursday that jobless claims are up 12,000 this week, bringing the total number to 294,000.

“Continuing claims dropped just a bit from 2.31 to 2.268, where they currently stand,” CNBC’s Rick Santelli added.

Although these numbers are not alarming to many experts, Reuters did say that experts had forecasted a drop in initial claims to 280,000 for the week.

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Although home rent costs are expected to rise by more than three percent this year – marking a 14-percent overall increase since 2010 – and mortgage interest rates have remained low, many young Americans are still choosing to rent over buying.

“Millennials are getting married later in life than previous generations and a sense of urgency to purchase comes with stability, marriage and growing families,” Joan Kamens, a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker Hearthside told CNBC.

Another factor to take into consideration as well is that the attitude toward long-term commitments is also in flux.

“Many millennials have been burned or felt trapped by contracts (cell phones, cable, even student loans) and are shying away from long term commitment,” Neeta Mulgaokar, a real estate agent with Mirador, added. “They will pay more to avoid it all together.”

Image via flickr/Charleston’s The Digitel

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