Housing affordability in the U.S. is getting worse. That was the recent conclusion in Forbes by Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. According to the report, new and existing home sales were 78% most affordable for a typical family in 2012 but by 2018 that number had dropped to 56%.
The income of most American households falls short of what is needed to buy a typical home but this is not consistent nationwide. Some housing markets are less affordable than others.
24/7 Wall St. recently took a look at data from the 2019 U.S. Home Affordability Report, which ranked counties based on how the median housing prices in the area compares to the average household's annual wages. It then analyzed home sale price data as well as the total number of housing units then calculated the income needed to buy a house.
Based on the analysis, 24/7 Wall St. was able to determine which are the least affordable places to live in the U.S. Most of the counties in the list fall within New York or California. This is a stark contrast to the pattern of most affordable places to buy a home, which is more spread out across the country and includes 12 different states, mainly falling within the South and Midwest.
Based on 24/7 Wall St.'s findings, we take a look at the top five least affordable places to live in the U.S.:
5. Marin County, California
Annual wages as pct. of median sales price: 7.3%
Income needed to buy a house: $270,710
Avg. annual wages: $73,554
Q4 median sales price: $1,010,000
4. Maui County, Hawaii
Annual wages as pct. of median sales price: 7.2%
Income needed to buy a house: $162,717
Avg. annual wages: $45,266
Q4 median sales price: $627,969
3. New York County, New York
Annual wages as pct. of median sales price: 6.7%
Income needed to buy a house: $511,003
Avg. annual wages: $124,462
Q4 median sales price: $1,862,500
2. Santa Cruz County, California
Annual wages as pct. of median sales price: 6.6%
Income needed to buy a house: $208,178
Avg. annual wages: $51,077
Q4 median sales price: $770,000
1. Kings County, New York
Annual wages as pct. of median sales price: 6.3%
Income needed to buy a house: $197,830
Avg. annual wages: $47,788
Q4 median sales price: $760,000
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