SANTA CLARA, Calif.,
May 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Record
low interest rates have made buying a home more affordable this
year, but only two of the top 100 metros -- Des Moines and Baton
Rouge, La., -- offer both affordability and an adequate
supply of for-sale listings, according to a new analysis released
today by realtor.com®.
Overall, homes listed for sale during the first quarter of 2020
were 8 percent more affordable compared to the first quarter of
2019, according to the REALTORS® Affordability
Distribution Score, a collaboration between
realtor.com® and the National Association of
REALTORS®, which measures the affordability of current
for-sale homes overall as well as at different income levels.
At the same time, finding a home in most markets is becoming more
difficult as the inventory of homes per 1,000 households is down 53
percent from the 20-year average.
"The lack of affordable homes for sale has been the No. 1 issue
facing homebuyers for the last several years," said
realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "The COVID pandemic has eased the
affordability side of the equation by lowering interest rates, but
it has also prompted many sellers to delay listing their homes. As
buyers return, we'll need to see sellers come back for the housing
market to normalize."
On average, eight homes were listed for sale for every 1,000
households at the end of the first quarter, compared to the
long-term historical average of 17 listings per 1,000
households.
Based on the analysis of the top 100 metros, only Des Moines and Baton
Rouge had more than 10 active listings per 1,000 households
and an affordability score of at least 1.00, making them affordable
to households at wide a variety of income levels and relatively
well-supplied, with 10.9 and 11.7 listings per 1,000 households and
affordability scores of 1.03 and 1.00, respectively.
Four additional metros -- Atlanta, Virginia
Beach, Va., Jacksonville,
and Lakeland, Fla., -- had at
least 10 active listings per 1,000 households and an affordability
score of at least 0.80, making them relatively affordable.
In contrast, several historically affordable metros --
Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., Columbus, Ohio, Springfield, Mass., and Harrisburg, Pa. -- have seen their listings
dry up, in part due to the COVID pandemic. At the low end,
Buffalo had 2.5 listings per 1,000
households and Harrisburg had 3.6
listings per 1,000 households at the high end.
Q1 2020 affordable markets
Metro
|
Active
Listings*
|
Number of
Households*
|
Listings Per
Households**
|
Current
Listings
vs. Long
Term
Average**
|
Median
Listing
Price
(April)
|
Affordability
Score (April)
|
Des Moines-West Des
Moines, Iowa
|
3,026
|
277,780
|
10.9
|
0.63
|
$269,800
|
1.03
|
Baton Rouge,
La
|
3,782
|
323,455
|
11.7
|
0.68
|
$248,800
|
1.00
|
Atlanta-Sandy
Springs-Roswell, Ga.
|
37,351
|
2,245,003
|
16.6
|
0.96
|
$325,050
|
0.89
|
Virginia
Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va-N.C.
|
7,252
|
676,056
|
10.7
|
0.62
|
$316,050
|
0.89
|
Jacksonville,
Fla
|
8,348
|
620,914
|
13.4
|
0.78
|
$311,545
|
0.83
|
Lakeland-Winter
Haven, Fla.
|
2,991
|
269,066
|
11.1
|
0.64
|
$235,050
|
0.87
|
* As of May
2
|
**Per 1,000
households
|
Methodology: The REALTORS® Affordability
Distribution Curve and Score is a NAR and realtor.com®
data series designed to examine affordability conditions at
different income percentiles for all active inventory on the
market. The Affordability Distribution Curve examines how many
listings are affordable to those in a particular income percentile.
The Affordability Score varies between zero and two and is a
calculation that is equal to twice the area below the Affordability
Distribution Curve on a graph. A score of one or higher generally
suggests a market where homes for sale are more affordable to
households in proportion to their income distribution.
About realtor.com®
Realtor.com®
makes buying, selling and living in homes easier and more rewarding
for everyone. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of
digital real estate 20 years ago, and today through its website and
mobile apps is a trusted source for the information, tools and
professional expertise that help people move confidently through
every step of their home journey. Using proprietary data science
and machine learning technology, realtor.com® pairs
buyers and sellers with local agents in their market, helping take
the guesswork out of buying and selling a home. For professionals,
realtor.com® is a trusted provider of consumer
connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in
today's on-demand world. Realtor.com® is operated by
News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move,
Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of
REALTORS®. For more information, visit
realtor.com®.
Media contact: Janice McDill,
janice.mcdill@move.com, 312.307.3134
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SOURCE realtor.com