According to a recent Trulia report, home prices are rising in some of the country’s least affordable real estate markets. Around the U.S., asking prices climbed 9.5% year-over-year in May, however, in the 10 least affordable housing markets, prices spiked 16.3%.
Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, believes that there are two reasons for this gap in affordability. He says, “[More] people in expensive markets like California will look to relocate to cheaper markets like Texas when the time comes to buy. Additionally, the disparities in affordability make it more difficult to come up with “one-size-fits-all” national housing policies as local markets become more different from one another.”
In the report, Trulia found that out of the 100 largest metro areas, a whopping 98 of them saw asking prices increase year-over-year. Seven of the least affordable real estate markets are right here in California, and many Americans are spending a sizable portion of their monthly income in order to remain in these housing markets.
It’s a different housing market than it was just a few years back, to be sure. Home prices continue to rise around the country, and buyers are still contending with limited inventory. In Oakland, California, the seventh most unaffordable housing market per the report, housing prices climbed 31.2% year-over-year in May.
On the flip side, in the 10 most affordable metros, asking prices averaged the same as the national rate of 9.5%. Atlanta, Memphis, Fort Worth, and Dallas recorded double-digit year-over-year gains in asking prices, however, they are all still among the most affordable big cities in which to purchase a home.
