Who Can Afford To Live Where?

According to a recent report by Trulia, teachers, first responders, tech workers, restaurant workers, and even doctors are having a hard time buying a home in the communities where they work especially if they happen to be in America’s biggest housing markets. Trulia used median wage data from the Labor Department and factored in affordability as defined by a debt-to-income ratio of 31% or less. They assumed plunking down a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at a 4.44% interest rate.
Teachers took a big hit and are worse off or the same as last year in 85 of the largest 93 metro areas. First responders are taking it on the chin in California cities. Despite earning more than $100,000 in San Francisco and San Jose first responders can afford just 2.4% and 6.6% of currently listed homes. Restaurant workers are also getting shellacked and many tech workers in Silicon Valley are unable to afford a home near where they work.
Last year, first responders could afford more than half of listings in 43 markets but that number has dwindled to 27 markets even though wages increased for police officers and firefighters in 77 markets. In San Jose, Calif., San Francisco, and Oakland, Calif. first responders earn more than $100,000 but can afford 2.4%, 6.6% and 14.8% of available listings, respectively.
Restaurant workers received some positive news this year as the share of homes they can afford in Detroit went up to 50.6%, which increased from last year’s market-leading 42.9%. However, this was largely attributed to the median listing price in Detroit dropping 19%. Elsewhere, the share of homes restaurant workers can afford are in the single digits in 61 markets, up from 56 last year.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

34 Trends That Will Define Home Design In 2020

Image
Kitchens 1. Three-tone kitchens.  Two-tone kitchen cabinets — meaning the upper cabinets are one color and the lower cabinets another color, or the perimeter cabinets are one color and the island is a different color — dominated kitchens in the past couple of years. So it’s only natural that designers are building on the trend rather than doing away with it. In a three-tone kitchen, one more color or material is introduced to create an asymmetry in the palette that helps define zones or functions and keeps the eye moving. Here, designer Janina Cabrera of  J Style at Home  designed a gorgeous kitchen with white perimeter cabinets, a light wood island base and a knockout powder-blue hutch. In this kitchen by  Hutker Architects , a deep navy defines the refrigerator and pantry wall to the left, joining white perimeter cabinets and a superlight wood island base. Wood via the beams, ceiling, shelves and flooring adds to the diverse three-tone palette. ...
Read more

10 Things You Should Buy Now To Get Through COVID-19 Cabin Fever This Winter

  1. Outdoor gear Dave Labbe , senior vice president at Kittery Trading Post, saw record sales this summer of items like kayaks, camping gear, and bicycles. He expects the trend to continue for the winter. "Our anticipation is that all winter categories will see the same trend," he says. "Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skies, snowboarding, and winter camping and hiking will boom as people continue to participate in anything outdoor-related." And outdoor activities aren't just for weekends, either. Kids who are still learning from home will need outdoor breaks. Store inventories of  backyard ice rink kits ,  backyard snowboards , skates, sleds, and snowman kits may melt away quickly. 2. Outdoor clothing Coats, hats, and mittens are popular every winter season, but this year you might have trouble finding what you want as more people brave the cold and snow to fend off cabin fever. "People want to continue spending time together safely this winte...
Read more

Black Homeownership Plunges To Record Low

The homeownership rate of black Americans hit an all-time low in the first quarter of this year as black communities continue struggling to recover financially from the housing crisis a decade ago, recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows. The black homeownership rate has dropped 8.6 percentage points since peaking in 2004. “We can see that discrimination is still there, although it has changed its form,” Michela Zonta, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, told  The Wall Street Journal . Zonta released a study this week that found higher-income black homeowners are more likely to purchase homes in predominantly minority neighborhood, which have mostly failed to see home values rise since the foreclosure crisis. In comparison, neighborhoods with predominantly white borrowers have seen homes appreciate 3% between 2006 to 2017, while homes in predominantly black neighborhoods tended to be worth 6% less than they were in 2006, according to Zonta’s study. ...
Read more