While this has been shaping up to be the best year for home sales since 2006, it’s also a challenging time for some would-be buyers. So let’s take off those rose-colored Wayfarers for a stretch: Truth is, the lack of affordability and availability continues to keep plenty of interested home searchers from becoming homeowners.
Visitors to realtor.com® in June reported that their No. 1 difficulty in buying a home was simply finding one that meets their needs. Another top obstacle was the inability to find a good home in their budget range. Those issues reflect the snare-drum tight inventory in housing these days, which in turn has been pushing up prices nationwide.
But there are always exceptions to the average, so we thought we’d figure out which markets minimize the challenges of affordability and availability, offering the best opportunity for buyers.
Jonathan Smoke, our chief economist, took a deep dive into the housing and mortgage data to come up with something new: the exclusive realtor.com EasyToBuy Index. Using this index, his team looked at the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country and arrived at the 10 easiest places to purchase a home.
“These are healthy markets, firmly in recovery mode, but they offer more choices and great affordability,” said Smoke. “They also have higher relative levels of inventory and mortgage rates that are equal to or better than the national average rates.”
The index takes into account the full cost of homeownership; whether it’s a buying or renting market; and local conditions such as mortgage rates, insurance, taxes, and supply of affordable inventory.
The index combines four factors with equal weight:
Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
Number of homes for sale per 1,000 owner-occupied households
Percentage of median household income it takes to buy a home at the median list price
Percentage of active inventory below the maximum affordable price (determined by assuming a 28% loan-to-income ratio, median income, and a 20% down payment)
And don’t assume that “easy to buy” means “undesirable.” In fact, all the top 10 markets on our EasyToBuy Index have seen 1% to 10% price appreciation in the past year—enough to indicate that an investment in real estate is likely to pay off, but not so much that it becomes a barrier to buying.
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1. Indianapolis, IN
Known as the “crossroads of America,” with six interstate and six U.S. highways, Indianapolis is accustomed to people just passing through. But those who decide to stay will be amazed by this place’s livability. With the amenities, culture, and luxury of a big city, Indy also maintains a friendly small-town vibe—and its residents usually get to work in about 30 minutes, no matter where they live.
Buying a midprice home in Indy is not a very daunting a task, as homeownership generally takes 17% of the median household income, far below the recommended threshold of 28%.
On top of that, our EasyToBuy Index indicates that 71% of all the listings in Indianapolis are affordable. To put that into perspective, Silicon Valley’s San Jose, CA, has only 8% affordable listings.
“Indianapolis is almost a secret to people sometimes, but we will see a lot more growth in the future,” said John Snavley, senior vice president of a local real estate company.
2. Memphis, TN
It may be world-famous for its dry-rub pork barbecue and Elvis Presley (the two are forever entwined in our imaginations), but an adequate housing supply and low mortgage rates also make Memphis a bargain hunter’s delight. With a median price of $168,000, you, too, can be a proud homeowner.
Memphis has also experienced material growth this year, with a year-over-year price appreciation of 9%, mostly due to a rush to buy up cheap foreclosure properties starting a few years ago, according to local broker Jules Wade.
“We’ve seen investment companies buying dozens of properties and renting them out,” Wade said. “It’s not clear whether they are going to maintain the properties; but so far it seems they are.” Note: That trend is slowing down, because there are far fewer foreclosures now compared with a couple of years back.
3. Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach, the mighty resort city on the East Coast, may seem an odd fit for the list—its $262,000 median list price actually puts it above the national level. But the place features a high percentage of available inventory, and being in the state of Virginia gives home buyers a great deal on mortgage rates.
Virginia Beach is certainly very affordable compared with its coastal counterparts. Note: Although it didn’t make the final cut, it was one of the leading candidates in our quest for the most affordable beach town.
4. Birmingham, AL
Up for putting roots down in the heart of the Deep South? The largest city in Alabama, Birmingham manages to maintain a good amount of housing at prices that are just right.
Buying a home in the Birmingham area takes about one-fifth of household income—a pretty good deal, especially for millennial buyers to move into homeownership. A 2% price appreciation in the past year also indicates a healthy, steady market.
5. Cincinnati, OH
The Buckeye State lands the biggest cluster—three affordable markets, including Nos. 8 and 10—on the list.
Home to big retailers Kroger and Macy’s, Cincinnati has a healthy economy that continues to click along nicely— unemployment remained at 4.6% in June, 0.9 percentage points lower than the national rate. And while the median income is on par with the national median, housing is much cheaper than the national average, with a median price of $166,000.
Buying a median-price home in Cincy takes up only 15% of the median household income, leaving plenty of financial room for family vacations after the down payment and mortgage payments.
6. Pittsburgh, PA
After a decadeslong transition from a downtrodden industrial and manufacturing hub to a new economy fueled by small technology and medical companies, Pittsburgh now approaches the vitality of its Steel City days.
With the median list price in Pittsburgh at $158,000 in June, homeownership is well within reach of the median-earning household, with buying costs taking 19% of income.
7. Atlanta, GA
Smacked hard when the housing bubble burst a few years ago, Atlanta is now recovering at full speed. Despite being the ninth-largest metropolitan area in terms of household count, strong new construction activity helps replenish housing inventory quickly, keeping supply and demand in balance.
The area currently has nearly 50,000 homes for sale, the second largest in the country after the New York metro area. It also topped our list of markets where buying is better than renting.
While this is clearly one of the more affordable real estate markets, “Hotlanta” is also a market generally on the rise. In the past 12 months, list prices have increased by around 10%.
8. Cleveland, OH
In Cleveland (as well as Columbus, at No. 10), it’s largely the same story as in Cincinnati. Steady economies and low housing prices have contributed to healthy markets with about 70% affordable listings.
9. Detroit, MI
Detroit is a no-brainer for the list, given its well-publicized financial troubles. In June, the city’s median list price was $182,000.
But several signs offer hope that the Motor City may be gearing up for a comeback. Powered by low mortgage rates and relatively sufficient supply, home prices in the Detroit metro area are regaining some lost ground with a year-over-year appreciation rate of 8%.
10. Columbus, OH
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