Homebuying often requires balancing dream home aspirations with finances. Some markets, however, offer a bit more bang for a homebuyer’s buck. A recent study by online loan comparison platform NetCredit analyzed listings in the 100 largest U.S. cities to identify the most and least affordable locations. Toledo, Ohio, ranks as the most affordable city, with 53% of homes costing less than 28% of the local average income, which is about $1,080 monthly. This affordability is due to Toledo's declining population, which has increased housing availability and lowered prices.
Cleveland, another Ohio city, also ranks in the top 10, though with only 30.97% of homes deemed affordable locally. However, when comparing housing costs to the national average income of $74,755, Detroit surpasses Toledo as the most affordable city, with 77.6% of homes falling under the 28% income threshold, compared with Toledo's 74%.
Next, we looked at the big cities with the lowest percentage of available homes below the national bank’s threshold for “affordability.” We found nine cities with zero homes for sale at under 28% of the local average income.
Five of these are in California. Fremont has the highest threshold to reach: at $170,934 per annum, the local average income here is higher than in Oakland, San Jose, Long Beach and Santa Ana. On this income, the average Fremont household must spend more than $3,988 monthly on housing repayments to be considered “cost-burdened.” Read more
