SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Across 40 large U.S. cities, 55 percent of homes for sale last month were both affordable and big enough (two to four bedrooms) for a working class household, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Despite recent home price gains, shrinking inventory and concerns about affordability, Redfin found that in 25 cities, more than half of homes were affordable for a working class household and had two to four bedrooms.
Detroit was the most affordable city for the working class, with 97 percent of its listings both big enough and affordable on a working-class household income. And in Cleveland, Baltimore, Columbus, Memphis and Philadelphia, more than 80 percent of homes were affordable to working class households and had two to four bedrooms. San Francisco was the least affordable city, with fewer than 3 percent of these homes within reach of a working-class household.
In most cities, the portion of inventory affordable and big enough for a working-class household has fallen over the past two-and-a-half years. Oakland, Seattle and Dallas have seen the most rapid declines in affordable inventory, and Detroit saw its share increase by about one percentage point. While it’s not surprising that affordable inventory is disappearing quickly in those places, Redfin livability analyst, Eric Scharnhorst, reports that it is surprising that more than half of homes are big enough and still affordable while homeownership is at its lowest rate in over 50 years.
“It’s tough to find affordable homes for sale in the neighborhoods where people with higher incomes tend to live. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Neighborhoods with a healthy mix of incomes and home types cover just 13 percent of our cities,” said Scharnhorst. “The solution is a mix of inventory with homes for people of all incomes, even in the same neighborhood. It’s about more than just affordability; we’ve found that when people of various incomes live in the same neighborhood, everyone benefits.”
To read the full report, complete with data, charts, insights and methodology, click the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/08/working-class-homeownership-still-possible-in-many-big-u-s-cities
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About Redfin Corporation
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the customer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the most accurate home-value estimate online, the Redfin Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in home sales to date, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees, and counting.
For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center.
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