| Metro |
Avg Home Price |
% Renter Households |
Median Renter Income |
Income Needed |
% Renters Priced Out |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
906,081 |
39.70% |
58,000 |
151,158 |
93% |
| Urban Honolulu, HI |
873,237 |
40.40% |
75,062 |
107,286 |
86% |
Priced Out: 61% Of Renters Can’t Afford To Buy A Home In Their City
Porch Research, March 10, 2022 (excerpts)
Key Findings
- The average home in the U.S. costs seven times the average household income
- 61% of renters across the biggest metropolitan areas are priced out of home ownership, even if they saved up for a down payment
- For most renters, home ownership is out of financial reach in three out of four metropolitan (71%) areas in America
- In 13 metros, at least 90% of people currently renting are priced out of home ownership, 10 of those metros are in California
- Only 4% of renters in Los Angeles can afford to own a home in the city
- Johnston, PA is the only metropolitan area where home ownership is affordable for more than 80% of renters
The average home in the United States cost seven times the amount an average family makes in a year. That’s the highest ratio since the housing bubble preceding the Great Recession of 2007-2009, and one of the highest ratios in 70 years.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans are homeowners. But, for millions of Americans who rent and wish to buy a home, a recent real estate boom where sales are climbing and prices are skyrocketing is hardly good news.
As reported in last year’s study by HireAHelper, renter incomes are also significantly lower than those of homeowners. With home prices continuing to climb, an increasing number of renters are finding themselves priced out of real estate markets in their local area.
In this study, we examine what it means to be “priced out” (i.e., not being able to afford to buy and own a home in the city where you currently rent).
By comparing median home price in 260 metropolitan areas to income levels of renters in those same areas, we estimate that 61% of people currently renting in America’s biggest cities can’t afford to buy a home where they live.
What this means more granularly is that even if renters were able to save for a down payment on a median-priced home in their city, for the majority of them, mortgage repayments would exceed 30% of their household income– a percentage that many experts agree is the cutoff for “affordable” housing costs. (Note: this 30% figure is the same one we utilized for this study).
read … Full Report
WaPo: Report: Majority of renters can't afford to buy in their city
HNN: As housing prices on Oahu hit record highs, families grapple with rising rents
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