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 |
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