Production Builders Taking a New Approach to Affordable Housing

Housing starts increased by 7% in 2020 compared to the year prior, but the supply of affordable homes remains low—these two builders are working to change that. According to Forbes, less than 3% of homes completed in 2019 were affordable for buyers making between 80% and 120% of the area’s median income. The slow growth in affordable housing paired with the lack of growth in wages makes housing more unobtainable. ATTOM Data Solutions found the nationwide average wage fell in the fourth quarter of 2020 below the wage needed to purchase a typical home. Clayton Homes and Skender are trying to show efficient and beautiful homes can be affordable.

According to a September 2020 US Census Bureau report, the median household income in the US in 2019 was $68,703. That median income breaks down to $55,000 in take home pay and $2,115 in pay checks every other week, which depending on your math, would afford a home around the $150,000 range.

Yet, the median sales price of homes in December 2020 was $355,900 according to the US Census Bureau, which is out of range for anyone at or below median household income.

Business data platform Statistia published a list of the median household incomes in the top 25 most populated cities in the US in 2019, and 16 of them are lower than the national average, with Detroit’s at just $33,965. In Detroit, this would afford a home around the $80,000 mark with a low down payment.

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