Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
A new study from the financial website NerdWallet finds the Midwest is best for affordability.
The study, which used data from the Census and the National Association of Realtors, took a look at more than 173 metro areas to determine where homeownership is most feasible for the average consumer. NerdWallet divided the areas' median home sale price by the median household income in each metro area to come up with their rankings.
In 2013, Illinois showed up three times in NerdWallet’s list of most affordable places to buy a home, and this year all three metros show up again, alongside other areas such as Peoria and Decatur.
While Illinois makes the most total appearances on the sites' three rankings (separated by population size), the state has the greatest presence on their list of most affordable small metros:
NerdWallet also found that the disparity between most affordable and least affordable metro areas is increasing. However, they say that differences in local home prices, not gaps in household income, are the determining factor for whether an area is affordable or not.
