The ultimate real-estate guide: Where homes are most affordable, prices have the most upside, taxes and closing costs are lowest, and rents are falling the fastest
The hurdle for achieving homeownership is a tough one to jump, with homes being just about the least affordable they've been since the 1980s. Yet, waiting until prices or mortgage rates come down hasn't paid off, as both have shot back upward this year.
Below, we've compiled a list of our stories from the last two months to help you navigate this difficult market.
For new prospective homeowners, some stories include tips on relatively cheap markets to move to. For investors, some include tips on where experts see the best chance for outsized appreciation in the coming years in what many economists say will be a time of muted gains. And for those opting to continue renting since this path is increasingly cheaper than taking on a new mortgage payment, one piece shows where rents are falling the fastest.
So, let's start with the most affordable places in the country to move to right now.
This list from Scholaroo shows where prospective homeowners can find the cheapest combo of prices and property taxes relative to local incomes. Some of the markets even offer high appreciation potential.
This list from Point2 looks at the same theme, but focuses more just on the first year of homeownership. The analysis factors in down payments, monthly mortgage payments, closing costs, taxes, and insurance.
This list from This Old House is targeted specifically at young people. It looks at cities where the average cost of "starter homes" is relatively low, especially compared to incomes, and where there is also a substantial young population.
For investors seeking out markets that could see big home-value growth in the coming years, we interviewed the top researcher at Yardi Matrix, Doug Ressler. He told us about five cities he thinks will see the biggest appreciation as they attract people and jobs.
This one from Scholaroo is another for investors. They conducted an analysis of 152 US cities where they looked at their yearly home price growth over the last five years and averaged them. They then applied that annualized average to the next three years to come up with a projection for 2026.
Earlier in August, Goldman Sachs said they expect home prices on a national basis to grow another 1.8% this year. In this piece, they highlight which cities are driving that growth using the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index.
Another one for investors, especially long-distance ones: BiggerPockets Podcast host David Greene shares the markets — all of them in the south — that he thinks look most attractive right now as their populations grow.
For those looking to stay in the rental market for the time being, the above list from Zumper shows 38 markets where rent is actually down on a year-over-year basis when rents nationally are up over that time.
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