"Many middle-class families simply pay more than that, money that could have been spent elsewhere, stimulating the economy.
"A lot of people spend 40% on their housing" in Southern California, said Richard Green, director of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate.
Buying an affordable home can come with wrenching trade-offs — renovations, poor schools, long commutes and sometimes more crime. Benner sends his 7-year-old son to a public school in Culver City, where the district allows transfers for parents who work there."