Homes are affordable in 49% of US counties year over year
In an effort to determine how affordable it is to buy a home, ATTOM Data Solutions looked at how much of the average wage earner’s monthly income is needed to make the mortgage payment on a median-priced home in counties across the country.
The results of their recently released Q2 U.S. Home Affordability Report show 49 percent of US counties are now more affordable than their long-term historical average.
That’s a significant improvement from last year, when the report found just 31 percent of counties affordable.
Todd Teta, ATTOM’s chief product officer, says current market dynamics are encouraging for both buyers and sellers. “The latest affordability numbers reveal a win-win situation for sellers as well as buyers,” Teta said.
“Prices are rising again around the country during the current home-buying season, despite worries that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic would halt the nine-year run up in home values. But a combination of wage gains and declining mortgage rates are helping to override the increases and make homes more affordable in large swaths of the United State.”
The report found the counties where payments required the smallest percentage of wages were in the Midwest, with counties in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan making up the top 5 most affordable.
Q2 2020 Home affordability for Clark county (Las Vegas), Los Angeles, and San Francisco counties.
| Clark County, NV | Los Angeles County, CA | San Francisco County, CA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annualized Weekly Wages | $50,375 | $67,197 | $129,805 |
| % of Annualized Wages to Buy | 38.5% | 62.3% | 71.7% |
| Q2 2020 Affordability Index* | 93 | 103 | 113 |
| Q2 2020 Median Sales Price | $289,900 | $625,000 | $1,380,000 |
| YoY Annualized Wage Growth | 2.3% | 3.6% | 9.7% |
| YoY Median Home Price Growth | 5.4% | 2.5% | -1.4% |
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