The number of US cities where first-time homebuyers are faced with at least a $1 million price tag on the average entry-level home has nearly tripled in the past five years, according to new research.

A Thursday report from Zillow indicates that a typical starter home is now worth $1 million or more in 237 cities, up from 84 cities in 2019, underscoring America’s ongoing home affordability crisis.

“Affordability has been strained across the board,” Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow, said. “We see the largest number of million-dollar starter homes in expensive coastal markets. We see them in markets with very low homeownership rates and we see them in markets with more building regulations.”

  • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    Precovid houses I could afford with a weeks pay. Now it’s the whole pay check.

    You mean rent, right? Right?

    • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      No, it was ultra cheap in my region. Cheaper than rent. I begged my partner to by a house since it was HALF our rent for a decent 2014 built house with acres of land. But nooo they want to rent for life. Now that I finally convinced them otherwise I can’t afford it. It causes alot of resentment for me.

        • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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          3 months ago

          Sigh SO different goals caused by huge family trauma is the story of our relationship. In this case SO Family never maintained home and it looks like on it’s way to a Horders house. Literally Bathroom has been torn up for 10 years no work done outside demo. I can see literal floor below me in some parts. And if I offer to help one weekend to finish omfg watch that volcano. Its like reality TV with all the emotions. So the idea of having someone else maintain property was a plus in that traumatized mind. I could go on but I know I’ll reach text limit 6x.

      • tpihkal@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        You’re not making sense. What is the difference between “a weeks pay” and a “whole pay check”?

        • expatriado@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          i agree is not clear, but i assume this person means 1 week pay vs full month salary to pay for mortgage, since the increased house prices and interest rates, a double whammy

        • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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          3 months ago

          Oh sorry monthly. Price rose to 3x initial monthly value. So not quite my whole pay check but basically.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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            3 months ago

            Just chiming in, most people in the world are not paid bi-weekly, monthly seems to be more of a default.

            • smb@lemmy.ml
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              3 months ago

              Price rose to 3x initial monthly value.

              most people in the world are not paid bi-weekly,

              so to put all pieces together:

              most people are payed once only after having worked for it three times that value.

    • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      My mortgage payment is $1k at 3.5% interest. That is a 15 year mortgage that I have 5 years left on and the payment includes escrow (taxes and insurance) it was in the $850/$900 range but taxes and insurance have increased.

      This is a 4 bedroom/2.5 bath with a 3+ car garage in a small town near a largish college town which is 15 minutes away.

      We may be getting an advanced transportation research facility as well.

      https://ict.illinois.edu/in-the-news/U-of-I-autonomous-vehicle-track-is-building-the-future-of-mobility

      There are “better” communities in the surrounding area with much higher prices due to very high school rankings.

        • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          To be fair my home value has doubled and my taxes and insurance are only going to keep going up. If I sell I’ll be in the same boat as you and probably couldn’t afford to buy something else.