Study: Most Cities Have Become More Affordable This Year

After years of escalating home prices, 81% of major U.S. metros have become more affordable this year, according to a new realtor.com® study. “Mortgage rates are much lower than they were, and incomes have actually grown this year for most Americans,” says George Ratiu, realtor.com®’s senior economist. “Those two things combined have led to an improvement in affordability for home buyers.”
Affordability is rising the most in mid-sized cities, particularly in the Midwest and South. The areas tend to have strong economies and job markets and a large supply of homes on the market, realtor.com® reports. Researchers evaluated home prices and local household income in the 100 largest metro areas for the third quarter of this year. They calculated an affordability score for each metro.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2019/11/25/study-most-cities-have-become-more-affordable-this-year