It’s a tall task to find affordable digs these days, but there are a handful of the 50 biggest cities where you have a chance.
Low inventory of homes on the market along with climbing mortgage and interest rates and a number of other economic factors have contributed to an 11.4% increase in prices year-over-year according to First American’s Real House Price Index.
But, it’s not all bad news.
There are a handful of cities with reasonable prices for first homes that can help renters move up the property ladder.
As of 2017, Detroit was the most affordable city for median renters to move from renting to buying.
The median renter with an income of $43,643 and house-buying power of $265,000 could afford 87% of the homes sold in the Motor City. According to First American, this is largely due to small demand and an excess supply.
There is an astronomical difference between Detroit and the least affordable cities in the nation.
The median renter in San Francisco barely has a prayer of ever getting on the property ladder.
The median house price in San Francisco was $1.24 million in 2017, which was 456% aboe the national median house price of $223,000. The median renter with an income of $65,764 and house-buying power of $400,000 could only afford 2% of the homes sold in San Francisco.
So, if you’re not in the market for a million-dollar home, try sticking to Detroit, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Tampa Bay or Las Vegas, all of which have higher than normal supplies of affordable homes.
