The New Least Affordable Housing Market Is…

Nov 10, 2017

After nearly five years as the nation’s least affordable housing market, San Francisco passed its pricey crown to Los Angeles in the third quarter edition of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.

During the third quarter, only 9.1 percent of the homes sold in the Los Angeles metro market incorporating Long Beach and Glendale were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $64,300. San Francisco’s metro market, which includes Redwood City and South San Francisco, slipped into second place among unaffordable markets after 19 consecutive quarters in first place. The rest of the top five markets for unaffordability were also located in California: Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara and Santa Rosa.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, the metro area covering Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., was rated the nation’s most affordable major housing market, with 90.1 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $54,600. The metro area covering Wheeling, W.Va., and sections of neighboring Ohio was rated the nation’s most affordable smaller market, with 94.7 percent of homes sold in the third quarter being affordable to families earning the median income of $56,100.

“Though builder confidence remains strong, they continue to deal with the long-term repercussions of this devastating hurricane season, which has exacerbated chronic labor and lot shortages and put upward pressure on material and home prices,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.

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Phil Hall

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Nov 10, 2017

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