October 15, 2019
Cities Where Housing is Most Affordable
In an April report, LendingTree examined what makes a middle class household, well, middle class. It parsed this storied group, whose condition is often considered a bellweather of American economic health, into three subsections: lower-middle class, middle-middle class, and upper-middle class. Then it examined the income levels of each and compared these to where they live, and how much a home costs to buy there. By this method, the report manages to parse out the cities where housing is most affordable for those in each subsection of the middle class.
One might assume that wherever a home is most affordable for lower-middle class individuals, it is also likely that middle-middle class and upper-middle class individuals will find equal ease in affording a home. But surprisingly, this turns out to not be true.
For lower-middle class people, the three metropolitan areas where housing is most affordable turn out to be Houston, Texas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York.
For those in the middle-middle class, the top three spots are held by (again, in one of the two overlap cities) Houston, Texas; Dallas, Texas; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Upper-middle class people find the most affordability in Washington, D.C; Minneapolis, Minnesota (the other overlap city); and Hartford, Connecticut.
But how were these affordability rates determined? First of all, one must understand the criteria for each of the subgroups. Those families considered to be in the middle class overall are those who earn “between two-thirds to double the national median income, after incomes have been adjusted for household size”. For purposes of the report, LendingTree determined that those it would consider lower-middle class are those who make two-thirds of the median income; that middle-middle class families are those who make exactly the median income; and that upper-middle class families make double the median income. In this way it established three points on a graph for each municipality it studied.
Then the report examined the median home price for each municipality; the income for the sub-group of middle class families at hand; the likely monthly payment for a median priced home in the locality; the affordable monthly payment for a family in the relevant sub-group; and the monthly payment surplus—or the amount of money that a family in the relevant subgroup could afford to pay ABOVE the amount necessary to buy a median-priced home.
Whether you’re lower-middle class or upper-middle class, or any classification between, above, or below these, Topouzis & Associates, P.C. offers you the services that ensure title to your home purchase gets conveyed clear of defects—and we also supply purchasers with Owner’s Policies of title insurance, just in case. Contact us if you want your property transfer in Cranston, Rhode Island; Springfield, Massachusetts; or Miami, Florida to go through without a hitch—both before and after closing.
