affordable living
Houston named the most affordable housing market for the middle class
When we talk about affordability, it's often in relation to just one economic group, but a new study offers a more nuanced picture of housing affordability in Houston — and good news for a large portion of the middle class.
Houston is America's most affordable housing market for lower- and middle-middle class families, according to LendingTree, which analyzed housing affordability in the nation's 50 largest metros for its study.
The greater Houston metro area clocks in with a median home price of $166,500. That equates to a monthly mortgage payment of $683, according to the online loan marketplace, assuming a 20 percent down payment and mortgage rate of 4.6 percent.
Lower-middle class and middle-middle class families can afford that payment — and then some — says the study. It adheres to the "28 percent rule" in determining an affordable mortgage payment, saying a person shouldn't spend more than that chunk of their annual gross income on housing.
In Houston, lower-middle class families bring in $41,948 and can afford a mortgage payment of up to $979 a month. That's a surplus of $296 a month on the median-priced home. Middle-middle class families in the Houston area see even more savings. Those households bring in $62,922 a year, which means they can afford a mortgage payment up to $1,468 a month, a surplus of $785.
Pittsburgh, No. 2, and Buffalo, New York, No. 3, join Houston as the metros where lower-middle class families have "the easiest time" buying a median-priced home. Dallas, No. 2, and Minneapolis, No. 3, round out the most affordable metros for middle-middle class buyers.
In the Dallas metro area, the only other Texas metro mentioned in the study, the median home price is $174,500, and middle-middle class households earn $63,870 annually. That means the monthly payment on a median-priced home is $716, but a middle-middle class family can afford up to $1,490 a month.
Upper-middle class families fare best in Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; and Hartford, Connecticut. Across the board, the least affordable metros are in California, but the upper-middle class there "still make[s] more than enough money to comfortably pay for a home in any of the nation’s 50 largest metros," the study says.
The home is near all the Grapevine hot spots.Photo courtesy of The Meyer Group
Post Malone's childhood home, at 1226 Eaton Ln., Grapevine, is listed for $549,900. Photo courtesy of The Meyer Group