- May 6, 2024
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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## Affordability of Homes in Different Regions
### Middle Class and Home Affordability
Several discussions have touched upon the correlation between being able to afford a home and belonging to the middle class. It is evident that the cost of homes can greatly vary depending on the region, indicating different income brackets for middle class individuals in various areas.
### Disparities in Home Costs
The disparity in home costs across regions raises questions about what constitutes middle class income levels in different parts of the country. Understanding the average price of homes in your area can provide insights into the economic status of middle class individuals residing there.
### The Situation in Southern CA
In regions like Southern CA, the list price of homes for sale can be staggering, ranging from $1.8 million to $5.8 million. Typically, most homes fall within the $2 million to $2.5 million range, offering limited features like a 3-bedroom, 2-bath layout with minimal outdoor space.
### Financial Considerations
With a 20% down payment and a 6.6% mortgage rate, a potential homeowner would need around $450k down payment and face monthly payments of approximately $14,500, totaling $174k per year after factoring in taxes and fees. To ensure that mortgage payments do not exceed half of their net income, an individual would require an annual income of approximately $350k, translating to a gross income of around $700k (given California’s high state tax rates).
### How AI Legalese Decoder Can Help
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Every time I see posts like this my first thought is two things:
1) holy fuck California is insane
2) thank fuck I don’t live in California
Around me, Michigan – upper middle class area – home prices average around $500-600k for a 3/4 bedroom 3/4 bath house built in the late 80s/90s. Pushing into the $700s for new construction (3000sqft+).
We bought our house in July 2020 for $385 and it’s now worth $540 and we’re at 2.85%.
Rural Alabama:
Median house price is about $185k.
Median family income is about $50k
Property tax just under.5% so <$1k
Downside is that you have to live here…
I live in an area with similarly high housing costs, and every time someone asks what would be a satisfying income, I reply $250k+. I always get down voted, but if you want to own a house (even a crappy dilapidated one that has not been renovated sine a century ago) in my area, you will need an income that high. Guess that’s why I’ll probably be a renter for life.
For a decent house on a decent sized lot around 70k but you can find some for 30k or so https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/415-S-5th-St-Herington-KS-67449/91125605_zpid/
Median in Portland, ME is around 500k. We are currently one of the hottest real estate markets. We bought a (small but very nice) home for under 300k in 2020. Zillow lists it at nearly 500k now. Median income has barely budged. It’s a very beautiful place on the water with a lot to do, so we got a surge of pandemic moves to WFH. It’s easier to buy in Maine with a Boston salary and we are under 2 hours from Boston – and the houses are half the price. We have seen a lot of cash offers and second home purchases from wealthier folks in the Northeast – and investment firms buying SFHs. Vermont and NH has seen similar trends. I feel bad for people like me who are trying to do what we did now. You now require a healthy 6 figure household income and lots of luck to get a house near the city.
Denver metro area. Starter homes are around 600k. Nicer starter homes start around 700k. You can find homes below 600k but they are in the burbs
Boston is a joke. I don’t have the concrete numbers but I think the Globe recently did a piece that says median home prices are north of 900k and you basically need to make 300k+/yr to even consider buying.
Austin Texas- our 3 bed 2.5 bath house with respectable yard and 2 car garage was 560k in 2019
San Diego here; median is 900k but in my hood its much higher. Sheeesh, I’ll never buy a house at this rate. Somethin’s gotta give.
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I live in the Bay Area, where housing is pretty pricey. I recently sold my 3 br townhouse for $850K and bought a 2 br condo with more space for $840K. In my area, condos start in the $400K range. The most expensive house currently on the market is $1.7M.
One thing about HCOL areas is that most people don’t buy a larger single family house as their first house. Most people buy a condo, townhouse, or small house first, and they don’t put 20% down. Then once they’ve built some equity, they trade up. It’s been this way in CA for decades. We are definitely the land of starter homes. So while real estate is still expensive, it’s not as unachievable as it might seem initially.
DC metro (specifically NW DC and close-in areas like Montgomery County MD and Northern VA).
The low end of list price for an imperfect/unrenovated 3/2 SFH or townhouse with “good” schools, transit accessibility, and not terrible commute is around $700-800K. An updated home is at least $1M on the lower end and up to $2M depending on neighborhood.
Prices here have not significantly decreased in relation to higher interest rates. Homes that show well in desirable areas are still selling at or above asking price.
Suburban Northern VA: single family homes of any size are hard to find for under 700k; most “normal” 3-4 bed homes that are at least 40 years old and have a small yard are in the 800+ range. New builds are $1.4 and up. Townhouses are in the 500-800k range depending on age and amenities. Condos are the only thing you can find in the $400s, but can go past $700 for a nice building with amenities.
Prices get a hefty bump the closer you get to transit and proximity to cities like Alexandria/Arlington/DC. Maybe 30-50% higher, I’d guess? A solid hour out from DC you might start seeing fixer upper SFHs in the 500-600 range.
New Orleans metro varies really wildly by neighborhood, but average is probably about $300k for a normal house (built around the 70s, 3/2, no major upgrades). But you have to pay for hurricane insurance.
Central NJ, good schools, not far from Princeton.
500-750k starter condo, 750-900k stand alone home 25-30 years old(need work). 1.5mm minimum for newer, 3k+ square feet.
60-250k
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1105-W-Maine-Ave-Enid-OK-73703/2078312627_zpid/
Median price for homes in the Kansas City metro area look to be around $240k right now. I live in more of an upper middle class neighborhood where the homes are mostly in the $350-500k range.
This post is a reminder that I’m glad I don’t live in California. Pretty sure I’d be homeless there instead of living in a 4/3 house.
Californian here born and raised
[here is a home my dad sold in 2021](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/11226-Muller-St-Downey-CA-90241/21372921_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
We’re about 25-30 minutes from OC (say Disneyland for example) same for Down town LA and the beach
[my old town 40 miles north of Los Angeles suburbs](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26459-Riverrock-Way-Santa-Clarita-CA-91350/95544937_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
[another one](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/23842-Mission-Puebla-Santa-Clarita-CA-91354/63089514_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
[same suburbs but way cheaper because it’s south of LA](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24203-Blackberry-St-Murrieta-CA-92562/303946260_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare)
To be honest yeah it looks expensive and it is to an extent but you can find wildly different prices
Depending on what part of Los Angeles county for example near the beach, near the mountains, suburbs ect
[just know that Los Angeles COUNTY*** is massive](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County,_California)
People living in Lancaster are literally 2+ hours from downtown (50ish miles)
Upstate NY. I’d say 250-450k for a very decent 3bed 2bath house in a good school district.
Lexington KY you’re looking at anywhere between $200k to over a million, it all depends on what you want. Want a mansion on 5 or more acres of land? Between 800k to 1M can get you that, if you want an actual horse farm, you may be looking at 2M or more. Want a nice three bedroom two bath home around 3000sqft in a good neighborhood? 200k to 500k can get you that.
I live in a smaller town about 15 minutes from Lexington. I paid $122k for my 4 bedroom 2 bath home, but that was in 2018. Exact same style of homes are now selling for $180k in my neighborhood. It’s an older established neighborhood though. Looking it up, median selling price in my town is $210k.
My parents just bought a home for $130k in September, but their town is a little more out there, about an hour from Lexington.
I’m in a huge FB group for the Lexington area and I’m noticing a big influx of people from other more pricier states moving here since you can get more bang for your buck.
Richmond, Va Area you can range from 100k-2m+ but a “nice” home in a nice school district will likely set you back ~500k
Upstate SC here. A 3bed, 2ba home in my city goes for 225K-275K unless it’s a new construction. Those go for 350K-450k.
Luckily my husband bought his house in 2014 for 112K. In a few years we’d like a bigger house with land (4-5 acres) but those are currently going for 500K-700K.
A nice middle class starter home in my area is around $200k. This is in a small town surrounded by outdoor recreation and 15 minutes from a good size city that has everything you could need. 30 minutes from an even bigger city that has even more.
250-300K Cleveland Oh metro. Can definitely find stuff 150K that is livable though.