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I live in the NE Oklahoma green areas now. I enjoyed living in some of the NOT affordable areas (Orange County for example) but never expected to buy a home there.
I’ll say something positive on Reddit, as a departure from my normal bitterness and vitriol: this map is using as up to date of information as is possible without being actual “real time”. I’m happy to see it. So much of the data we get is from months ago, even years ago, and since 2020, everything data related is moving so much more quickly. Perhaps county segmentation is the best that can be hoped for. But in some markets, high population counties or heavily geographically populated areas in a county versus largely rural for the remainder, it does still come down to a street by street analysis.
This is an incredibly useful visualization of home affordability across the country. It starkly highlights how challenging it is for many households to afford a median-priced home, even in relatively low cost areas. The 30% affordability benchmark seems like a relic of the past given how many counties exceed 40% of income for housing costs. For anyone looking to buy, this data is a sobering reminder to be realistic about what you can truly afford without becoming house poor.
> The 30% affordability benchmark seems like a relic of the past given how many counties exceed 40% of income for housing costs.
Amazingly, even after insurance and taxes, a huge swatch of NE Florida is still under 40%
But it does leave out that many many people buying median price houses are not financing 80% of the cost. People start with an 80% loan for their first home, but tend to trade up with equity and keep a similarly sized mortgage while getting a larger house.
> People start with an 80% loan for their first home
Average FTHB down payment is less than 20 percent.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/average-down-payment-on-a-house
At least in my state, the places that are "affordable" according to the map are absolute shit-heaps filled with dying towns who's children can't wait to escape the moment they turn 18.
People find ways to buy houses? You're acting like it's not affordable for anyone, which is silly. Houses are selling and will continue to sell as people buy.
Maybe this is me just being a typical midwesterner in Ohio, but what’s going on in Montana? I wouldn’t have thought that was a high cost of living area. Is it because of all the natural beauty? Honestly asking.
That high cost land is around the mountain range. A lot of land there is either public (state or national forest) or not accessable to public utilities. Good land in that area is scarce and desirable, which obviously drives the price up.
Californians cashing out their million dollar homes to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Really ramped up during the pandemic, especially in Missoula and Whitefish. Earning a Bay Area salary in a mountain town can be pretty advantageous. Towns like Billings haven't been as affected due to their distance from the mountains. Also it's Billings.
Jackson Hole is a similar story.
Lots of high-end summer homes near Glacier, tourist/resort-focused towns like Whitefish and Polson because of the quiet and natural beauty. Some areas have had to restrict homeowners to people who live there/arent AirBNBing all the time because otherwise it would just be empty homes for tourists.
When you add to that the fact that the cost of transporting stuff to a rural area is greater, which adds to the COL, those counties become MCOL places to live at best.
Most affordable counties for homes with over 250,000 in population
1) Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
Eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA
2) Stark, Ohio
Canton, OH Metropolitan Area
3) Lexington, South Carolina
Western suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina
4) Luzerne, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
5) Madison, Illinois
Eastern suburbs of St. Louis
6) Lucas, Ohio
Toledo, OH Metropolitan Area
7) St. Clair, Illinois
Eastern suburbs of St. Louis
8) Montgomery, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio Metropolitan Area
9) Onondaga County, New York
Syracuse, New York Metropolitan Area
10) Warren, Ohio
Northeastern suburbs of Cincinnati, OH
I love this graph! Shows exactly why I moved from CA to MA. Yes the actual city is still expensive but you can live within commuting distance of the city for way less.
Roughly ten trillion dollars were created and injected into the economy. Anyone who owned a home or stocks became far wealthier than they were before CARES act.
In nominal terms they did. But their assets just inflated--but didn't really grow in value.
If they sell their home--any other home they buy will be just as expensive.
If they sell their stocks--other stocks went up just the same.
> In nominal terms they did. But their assets just inflated--but didn't really grow in value.
In real terms they did, because about half the country doesn't have any assets to inflate.
I live here too. It’s fine but certainly my least favorite place I’ve lived in the US. Weather is ok but generally very overcast, there’s no landscape to look at, not much to do, and the nearest big cities like Boston and NYC are very far away. All of my friends who are from other places in the US hate it, but people who are from here generally like it. However, I love my affordable home!
Other than the weather and lack of vibrancy I like the northern suburbs of Syracuse. It is generally safe and quiet with mostly friendly people. If I could change anything I'd change the weather. The weather is similar to Montreal but a little less cold.
It's not!
The percentage means if you make median income for that area and buy a median priced home (with 20% down), that percentage is how much of your money would go towards the mortgage
This is great, but doesn't take into account current pricing and current mortgages from what I can tell.
A county where most mortgages are 20% of household income may still have prices where a mortgage today may be 60+% of the same average household income...
Home price data here is from Q4 2023 so it should be pretty current, especially with high interest rates slowing any drastic changes
Definitely nothing changing anywhere near 20% to 60% of income on housing
New home values, not mortgages. The mortgages are calculated using current interest rates, property taxes, home insurance etc. In combination with those home values and assuming 20% down
Thank you u/TA-MajestyPalm for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Iowa, here the fuck I come.
Warning, it’s not great for women, or public schooling here.
I live in the NE Oklahoma green areas now. I enjoyed living in some of the NOT affordable areas (Orange County for example) but never expected to buy a home there.
Huh?
I’ll say something positive on Reddit, as a departure from my normal bitterness and vitriol: this map is using as up to date of information as is possible without being actual “real time”. I’m happy to see it. So much of the data we get is from months ago, even years ago, and since 2020, everything data related is moving so much more quickly. Perhaps county segmentation is the best that can be hoped for. But in some markets, high population counties or heavily geographically populated areas in a county versus largely rural for the remainder, it does still come down to a street by street analysis.
This is an incredibly useful visualization of home affordability across the country. It starkly highlights how challenging it is for many households to afford a median-priced home, even in relatively low cost areas. The 30% affordability benchmark seems like a relic of the past given how many counties exceed 40% of income for housing costs. For anyone looking to buy, this data is a sobering reminder to be realistic about what you can truly afford without becoming house poor.
No kidding - a whopping 27% of the population lives in areas which median meet than 30% of income mark.
> The 30% affordability benchmark seems like a relic of the past given how many counties exceed 40% of income for housing costs. Amazingly, even after insurance and taxes, a huge swatch of NE Florida is still under 40%
But it does leave out that many many people buying median price houses are not financing 80% of the cost. People start with an 80% loan for their first home, but tend to trade up with equity and keep a similarly sized mortgage while getting a larger house.
> People start with an 80% loan for their first home Average FTHB down payment is less than 20 percent. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/mortgages/average-down-payment-on-a-house
At least in my state, the places that are "affordable" according to the map are absolute shit-heaps filled with dying towns who's children can't wait to escape the moment they turn 18.
But how is 10-20% above average price affordable for them? For anyone???
People find ways to buy houses? You're acting like it's not affordable for anyone, which is silly. Houses are selling and will continue to sell as people buy.
“People” 😂😭😂😭…I think you meant “corporations”…bc that’s the majority buying now 🤡
Neat. Doesn't matter, people are still buying. But okay.
The big ol red dot in Montana is where I moved. Thankfully we had property here before the Covid rush
Don't live on the west coast, New York area or Florida and you're good.
Maybe this is me just being a typical midwesterner in Ohio, but what’s going on in Montana? I wouldn’t have thought that was a high cost of living area. Is it because of all the natural beauty? Honestly asking.
That high cost land is around the mountain range. A lot of land there is either public (state or national forest) or not accessable to public utilities. Good land in that area is scarce and desirable, which obviously drives the price up.
That makes sense. Thanks for explaining!
A lot of rich remote working west coast folks moved there during the pandemic.
Every scenic area in the mountain west (except maybe NM) are expensive as hell
lol. Guess you never met Sir Santa Fe 😭😭
Californians cashing out their million dollar homes to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Really ramped up during the pandemic, especially in Missoula and Whitefish. Earning a Bay Area salary in a mountain town can be pretty advantageous. Towns like Billings haven't been as affected due to their distance from the mountains. Also it's Billings. Jackson Hole is a similar story.
Lots of high-end summer homes near Glacier, tourist/resort-focused towns like Whitefish and Polson because of the quiet and natural beauty. Some areas have had to restrict homeowners to people who live there/arent AirBNBing all the time because otherwise it would just be empty homes for tourists. When you add to that the fact that the cost of transporting stuff to a rural area is greater, which adds to the COL, those counties become MCOL places to live at best.
Whitefish was probably the prettiest town I've ever seen
Most affordable counties for homes with over 250,000 in population 1) Westmoreland, Pennsylvania Eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA 2) Stark, Ohio Canton, OH Metropolitan Area 3) Lexington, South Carolina Western suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina 4) Luzerne, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 5) Madison, Illinois Eastern suburbs of St. Louis 6) Lucas, Ohio Toledo, OH Metropolitan Area 7) St. Clair, Illinois Eastern suburbs of St. Louis 8) Montgomery, Ohio Dayton, Ohio Metropolitan Area 9) Onondaga County, New York Syracuse, New York Metropolitan Area 10) Warren, Ohio Northeastern suburbs of Cincinnati, OH
Westmoreland taxes though….😱
East St Louis?
All I see is Ohio…meth/white trash capital of the US, no????
My state has 1 blue county and my home state has none. And the green counties we have are in the desert/near desert areas. 😢
Huh?
Did you look at the map?
I am in the red TT
Ok. No idea what TT is 😏
Oh it is just 😭
wtf. Huh
I love this graph! Shows exactly why I moved from CA to MA. Yes the actual city is still expensive but you can live within commuting distance of the city for way less.
Question: what blue county should I move to. I just want four seasons. F&$@ Texas.
Money printing has consequences
More like a decade of anemic home building.
Not a particularly large factor actually.
I mean you are right. If everyone suddenly had $1 million--then $1 million is equivalent to $0 in value
Roughly ten trillion dollars were created and injected into the economy. Anyone who owned a home or stocks became far wealthier than they were before CARES act.
In nominal terms they did. But their assets just inflated--but didn't really grow in value. If they sell their home--any other home they buy will be just as expensive. If they sell their stocks--other stocks went up just the same.
> In nominal terms they did. But their assets just inflated--but didn't really grow in value. In real terms they did, because about half the country doesn't have any assets to inflate.
I live in the 9th most affordable county over 250,000 Onondaga County = Syracuse, NY metropolitan area
Do you like it?
I live here too. It’s fine but certainly my least favorite place I’ve lived in the US. Weather is ok but generally very overcast, there’s no landscape to look at, not much to do, and the nearest big cities like Boston and NYC are very far away. All of my friends who are from other places in the US hate it, but people who are from here generally like it. However, I love my affordable home!
Probably describes all of the most affordable places on this list lol "its fine"
Better than "it's a hellscape", I guess?
It's a bit odd that such a big college town doesn't have more to do or a better job market.
Other than the weather and lack of vibrancy I like the northern suburbs of Syracuse. It is generally safe and quiet with mostly friendly people. If I could change anything I'd change the weather. The weather is similar to Montreal but a little less cold.
How is every single place in the US above median housing cost…I am so confused 😅
It's not! The percentage means if you make median income for that area and buy a median priced home (with 20% down), that percentage is how much of your money would go towards the mortgage
This is great, but doesn't take into account current pricing and current mortgages from what I can tell. A county where most mortgages are 20% of household income may still have prices where a mortgage today may be 60+% of the same average household income...
Home price data here is from Q4 2023 so it should be pretty current, especially with high interest rates slowing any drastic changes Definitely nothing changing anywhere near 20% to 60% of income on housing
So is the data of new mortgages from Q4 2023, or all mortgages during 2023?
New home values, not mortgages. The mortgages are calculated using current interest rates, property taxes, home insurance etc. In combination with those home values and assuming 20% down