WASHINGTON — The go-go days for home prices are over, but Mike Pietrafesa thinks it is still tough for people to buy their first slice of the American dream.

"There are lots and lots of houses for sale that seem as though they are priced ridiculously and they aren't selling," said Pietrafesa of Nassau County, N.Y. "I certainly think that the old standard of having 20 percent of your house value as a down payment is really out of the window these days. I definitely think it is harder, in that respect, for first-time buyers."

Eighty percent of Americans believe it is difficult for most first-time buyers to afford a home, according to an AP-AOL Real Estate poll. Many people — 59 percent — believe the situation is worse now than five years ago.

Pietrafesa, 35, recalls that he had trouble finding a home he could afford. That was eight years ago. The split-level house on Long Island is a little small, he says, but he is staying put.

Younger adults and minorities view affordability more of a problem now for first-time buyers compared with five years ago than do older people and whites, the poll found.

By region, 68 percent of those in the West and 63 percent of those in the Northeast say it is more difficult for first-time buyers to afford a home than it was five years ago. Fifty-four percent took this view in the South, and 51 percent felt this way in the Midwest.

The Census Bureau reported recently that a third of U.S. homeowners with mortgages spent 30 percent or more of their household income last year on housing costs. These costs, which include mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and utilities, are usually considered excessive if they top 30 percent of household income.

Galloping housing prices during the five-year housing boom are a big factor in this, economists say. Rising mortgage rates and incomes, which for many people had failed to keep up with inflation, are other factors, economists said.

Nationwide, median home values jumped 32 percent from 2000 to 2005, to $167,500, the Census Bureau reported. (The median price is where half sell for more and half for less.)

Even though home prices have cooled this year, some people think they are still too high.

The poll found that 46 percent of those surveyed thought the housing market in their area is overpriced.