Homeownership Still Possible for the Working Class in Many Large U.S. Cities, According to Redfin

Across 40 Large U.S. Cities, 55 Percent of Homes for Sale Last
Month Were Affordable on a Working-Class Household Income and Two to
Four Bedrooms in Size

Detroit is the Most Affordable City for the Working Class; San
Francisco is the Least Affordable

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Across 40 large U.S. cities, 55 percent of homes for sale last month
were both affordable and big enough (two to four bedrooms) for a working
class household, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com),
the next-generation real estate brokerage. Despite recent home price
gains, shrinking inventory and concerns about affordability, Redfin
found that in 25 cities, more than half of homes were affordable for a
working class household and had two to four bedrooms.

Detroit was the most affordable city for the working class, with 97
percent of its listings both big enough and affordable on a
working-class household income. And in Cleveland, Baltimore, Columbus,
Memphis and Philadelphia, more than 80 percent of homes were affordable
to working class households and had two to four bedrooms. San Francisco
was the least affordable city, with fewer than 3 percent of these homes
within reach of a working-class household.

In most cities, the portion of inventory affordable and big enough for a
working-class household has fallen over the past two-and-a-half years.
Oakland, Seattle and Dallas have seen the most rapid declines in
affordable inventory, and Detroit saw its share increase by about one
percentage point. While it’s not surprising that affordable inventory is
disappearing quickly in those places, Redfin livability analyst, Eric
Scharnhorst, reports that it is surprising that more than half of homes
are big enough and still affordable while homeownership is at its lowest
rate in over 50 years.

“It’s tough to find affordable homes for sale in the neighborhoods where
people with higher incomes tend to live. It’s like looking for a needle
in a haystack. Neighborhoods with a healthy mix of incomes and home
types cover just 13 percent of our cities,” said Scharnhorst. “The
solution is a mix of inventory with homes for people of all incomes,
even in the same neighborhood. It’s about more than just affordability;
we’ve found that when people of various incomes live in the same
neighborhood, everyone benefits.”

To read the full report, complete with data, charts, insights and
methodology, click the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/08/working-class-homeownership-still-possible-in-many-big-u-s-cities

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About Redfin Corporation

Redfin (www.redfin.com)
is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own
full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in
the customer’s favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the
country’s #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to
consumers, including the most accurate home-value estimate online, the Redfin
Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service,
technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while
saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro
areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in
home sales to date, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees,
and counting.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent,
visit www.redfin.com.
To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin
Data Center.

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Contacts

Redfin Journalist Services:
Amy Musser, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com