Median home prices in the first quarter of 2019 were not affordable for average wage earners in 335 of 473 U.S. counties, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s Q1 2019 U.S. Home Affordability Report said the 335 counties where a median-priced home in the first quarter was not affordable for average wage earners included Los Angeles County, Calif.; Maricopa County (Phoenix), Ariz.; San Diego County; Orange County, Calif.; and Miami-Dade County, Fla.
The 138 counties where a median-priced home in the first quarter was still affordable for average wage earners included Cook County (Chicago), Ill.; Harris County (Houston), Texas; Wayne County (Detroit), Mich.; Philadelphia County, Pa.; and Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Ohio, according to the report.
“We are seeing a housing market in flux across the United States, with a mix of tailwinds and headwinds that are pricing many people out of the housing market, but also are creating potentially better conditions for buyers,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release.
“Continually rising home prices in many areas do remain a financial stretch – or simply unaffordable – for a majority of households,” Teta said. “However, quarterly wage gains have been outpacing prices increases for more than a year and mortgage rates are falling, which have helped make homes a bit more affordable now, than they’ve been in a year.”
ATTOM’s analysis found that 49 percent of markets across the U.S. were less affordable in the first quarter than their historic averages, down from 76 percent of counties in the previous quarter but up from 42 percent of counties in the first quarter of 2018.
The report said the counties that were less affordable than their historic affordability averages included Los Angeles County, Calif.; Harris County (Houston), Texas; Maricopa County (Phoenix), Ariz.; San Diego County, Calif.; and Orange County, Calif.
Counties that were more affordable than their historic affordability averages in the first quarter included Cook County (Chicago), Ill.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Santa Clara (San Jose), Calif.; Middlesex (Boston), Mass.; and Suffolk County (New York), N.Y.
“Affordability may improve because of the simple fact that homes are out of reach for so many home seekers, suggesting that prices need to moderate up in order to attract buyers,” Teta said. “Of course, a few quarters do not a long-term trend make. The economy could slow. The impact of last year’s tax cuts could fade, and interest rates could go back up, but the signs point to the possibility of an impending buyers’ market.”