Want an Affordable Home in San Diego - Or in Youngstown, Ohio?

March 19, 2012

Read Where You Can Live Very Affordably – Then Read On

A combination of historically low mortgage rates and declines in home pricing are resulting in the most affordable home market in two decades. This is great news for home buyers, provided they are able to qualify for a loan. Stricter guidelines and qualifications may make getting a home loan more challenging, so potential home buyers should work with a mortgage specialist to determine their ability to buy a home.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) report that nearly 76% of new and existing homes sold in the last quarter of 2011 could have easily been purchased by buyers earning $64,200 (the national median income). The previous quarter showed nearly 73% of homes in that range, marking a 3% increase.

Interest rates have been at record lows and change weekly on 30-year loans with Freddie Mac reporting an average of 3.87% on February 16th. 15-year loans were averaging 3.16%. Many housing markets were considered affordable in the recent index, however, if you are in market to purchase a home, the following areas represent the best choice in order of affordability according to the NAHB/HOI:

Youngstown, Ohio
Boardman, Ohio
Warren, Ohio
Lakeland, Florida
Winter Haven, Florida
Modesto, California
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Toledo, Ohio
Kokomo, Indiana
Fairbanks, Alaska
Cumberland, Maryland
Lima, Ohio
Rockford, Illinois

Click on The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index: History of Least and Most Affordable Areas spreadsheet located here to download the list of historical data on the most and least affordable areas in your community or browse their website to learn more.

Now, Read About Living in Paradise (San Diego)…Affordably

Look, I was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, with Boardman, Warren and Lima right in my back yard. Nice to know that 4/10 of the most affordable places in America are right in my birthplace! Yet affordability is not the only criteria that’s important in choosing a home or home site. It’s a good start; but let’s add some more components to the mix.

How about the weather?

I make my case simply:

Youngstown – Average days with minimum temperature below freezing (wait for it) = 134

San Diego – Average days with minimum temperature below freezing (wait for it) = 0 (Yes, that’s zero)

How about beaches?

Youngstown = None

San Diego = Almost 50 miles of the beautiful Pacific

How about schools/arts/night life?

I’m not even going to go there.

It’s more expensive in San Diego, but it’s now affordable as well

Just a few years ago the “affordability index” (the number of people able to afford a median priced home), stood at just 25%. That was at the peak of insanity here in Southern California. Yes, as I started to show above, we do have a natural “sunshine tax” that makes our housing more expensive, but at 25% we were simply “kookoo” as Jack Black would say.

Now our affordability index for most of San Diego County is running around 50%. This doesn’t compare with the over 90% of wage earners in Youngstown that can afford a home, but it’s a reasonable gauge for an area of the country where sun, fun, intellectuals and an odd assortment of hair brained politicos up in Sacramento make home.

Check out these homes in San Diego that now cost less than $400,000. You can find an affordable home in San Diego…and if you’d like to find out more, contact me.

By Don Reedy
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