Is There Anywhere an Average Wage Earner Can Live?

Yes there are, but the situation is worsening. Property data-firm Attom Data Solutions looked at 500 counties and found that average wage earners could not afford to buy a median-priced home in 74% of counties nationwide as of the 2019 third quarter. That’s up from 71% six months ago.
And matters are only getting worse. Home-price appreciation has outstripped wage growth across 76% of the markets Attom studied, particularly in the areas near major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, D.C.

“Prices are going up substantially faster than earnings in 2019 without any immediate end in sight, which continues to make home ownership difficult or impossible for a majority of single-income households and even for many families with two incomes,” Todd Teta, chief product officer with Attom Data Solutions, said in the report.

The major factor driving home prices higher as of late for most of the country has been the lack of homes for sale. After the recession, home-building activity was slow to rebound and mostly concentrated in the most expensive tier of the market for single-family homes.

Read More