The number of US cities where first-time homebuyers are faced with at least a $1 million price tag on the average entry-level home has nearly tripled in the past five years, according to new research.
A Thursday report from Zillow indicates that a typical starter home is now worth $1 million or more in 237 cities, up from 84 cities in 2019, underscoring America’s ongoing home affordability crisis.
“Affordability has been strained across the board,” Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow, said. “We see the largest number of million-dollar starter homes in expensive coastal markets. We see them in markets with very low homeownership rates and we see them in markets with more building regulations.”
Most homes are simply out of reach for most Americans at this point, particularly if you live in a city. Even renting one is extremely expensive unless you move into a smaller town.
In the (rust belt here) midwest it’s almost reversed, homes in the rural areas cost much more than they do in the city. But our cities are car centric wastelands, where whole city blocks have been turned into parking lots.
Not to mention, smaller towns have much lower investment capacity in revitalizing century old infrastructure. There’s not enough appeal or added convenience for most to live in the middle of a 20-60k population center opposed to the privacy and space offered by smaller neighboring municipalities or outskirts. Footing the bill for renovation and raising rent to compensate, because almighty profit, eliminates their only clients. Housing’s fucked here all the way around.
P.s. any one got silly little 20k to pull me out of debt and give me a down payment on a starter home? 🙃