The good news for homeowners? Inventories of homes for sale are rising. The bad news for homeowners? There are fewer affordable homes to choose from despite there being more homes for sale.
Redfin found that of the ten housing markets seeing the greatest decreases in affordability, eight of those markets saw increases in overall, respective inventories. The two exceptions within these ten housing markets were San Jose and Milwaukee. Both experienced both decreased inventories and decreased affordability, -12% and -6% respectively.
To determine the share of homes available to median wage earners, Redfin looked at median incomes for each location, industry standards determining mortgage loans that buyers of various income levels could afford and interest rates in 2017 – 2018. Here are Redfin’s findings:
City % Change in Affordability % Change in Inventory
San Jose -12% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 14% affordable homes -16% fewer homes
2017 – 26% affordable homes
Seattle -12% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 46%% affordable homes +4% more homes
2017 – 58% affordable homes
Las Vegas -9% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 63% affordable homes +10% more homes
2017 – 72% affordable homes
Sacramento -8% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 46% affordable homes +4% more homes
2017 – 54% affordable homes
Riverside -7% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 44% affordable homes +4 more homes
2017 – 51% affordable homes
San Diego -7% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 22% affordable homes +10% more homes
2017 – 29% affordable homes
Hartford -6% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 83% affordable homes +28% more homes
2017 – 89% affordable homes
Tampa -6% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 –67% affordable homes +5% more homes
2017 – 73% affordable homes
Milwaukee -6% fewer affordable homes in 2018
2018 – 74% affordable homes +5% more homes
2017 – 80% affordable homes
