Home Affordability Falls Across America, Atlanta Ranks #1

Press release from the issuing company

Thursday, October 24th, 2013

It's harder for a median-income household to afford a median-priced home in all of the top 25 U.S. markets this year, according to a new Interest.com report. A median-income household can only afford a median-priced home in eight of the nation's 25 largest metro areas (down from 14 out of 25 last year).

On average, home prices rose nearly 16% over the past year in the 25 cities, while incomes rose by about 3%. And the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 3.70% to 4.43%. That alone added $84.50 to the monthly payment on a$200,000 mortgage.

"The simple fact is that the very small improvement Americans have seen in their paychecks hasn't kept pace with a jump in home prices and mortgage rates," said Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com.

Atlanta is the most affordable market (a median-income household exceeds the amount required to purchase a median-priced home by 25%), and San Francisco is the least affordable (a median-income household falls a whopping 48% short of being able to afford a median-priced home).

 

   

Most Affordable Metropolitan Areas*                   

Least Affordable Metropolitan Areas*

1.         Atlanta (+24.92%)                                          

21.       Miami (-24.56%)

2.         Minneapolis (+23.86%)                                   

22.       Los Angeles (-30.31%)

3.         St. Louis (+17.94%)                                        

23.       New York (-35.82%)

4.         Detroit (+16.87%)                                           

24.       San Diego (-37.71%)

5.         Pittsburgh (+11.33%)                                      

25.       San Francisco (-47.93%)

   

*Percentages reflect how much the median household income in a metropolitan area exceeds or

falls short of the income required to purchase a median-priced home in that area