More share space to shave costs in recession

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Cathy Herlicy was getting desperate for a way to meet expenses after her hours as a limousine dispatcher were slashed and she couldn't find other work.

"Everything bottomed out for me, and I was having trouble making my home loan payments," said Herlicy, 59. Then a lightbulb went off: Why not rent out a room in her Milpitas home?

She contacted HIP Housing, a San Mateo nonprofit that helps arrange shared housing. They interviewed her and two days later proposed several potential renters, one of whom moved in with Herlicy.

The extra income has relieved the financial pressure. "Now it's much easier to take care of everything on what little I'm making," she said.

Facing layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs, more people have turned to shared housing to help make ends meet. Craigslist, the online classified ad giant, says that its roommate-wanted postings over the past 12 months are up 60 percent for the Bay Area, and up 85 percent within San Francisco.

Another bearish indicator for real estate.