Where is homeownership affordable in the US?
Using ATTOM Data Solutions’ sales history data covering 155M properties and 3,140 counties plus the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rental rates and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ wage data in areas with populations of 500,000 or more, it appears, according to ATTOM’s director of content, Jennifer von Pohlmann, “The American Dream of owning a home may be just that – a dream.”
Home price appreciation is increasing annually at an average of +6.7% a year whereas rent rates are increasing at an average of +3.5%. Home prices are outpacing wages in 80% of counties. Renting was more affordable than buying in the nation’s 18 most populated counties and in 37 of the 40 counties with populations of 1M+.
So…back to the question…where is homeownership affordable in the US?
Top 5 Counties Where Homeownership Is Affordable
Baltimore City County – Baltimore – Columbia – Towson Maryland
- The percentage of average wages to rent was 35.3%
- YTD 2018, the percentage of wages to buy with a 3% down payment was 16.1%.
Bristol County – Providence – Warwick Rhode Island-Massachusetts
- The percentage of average wages to rent was 52.4%.
- YTD 2018, the percentage of wages to buy was 52.0%.
El Paso County – El Paso Texas
- The percentage of average wages to rent was 40.4%.
- YTD 2018, the percentage of average wages to buy was 38.7%.
Sedgwick County – Wichita Kansas
- The percentage of average wages to rent was 29.7%
- YTD 2018, the percentage of average wages to buy was 29.4%.
Jefferson County – Birmingham – Hoover Alabama
- The percentage of average wages to rent was 27.8%.
- YTD 2018, the percentage of average wages to buy was 22.9%.
