BEST AND WORST METROS FOR BABY BOOMER AFFORDABILITY
2015-05-29
Los Angeles is the least affordable metro area for baby boomers to buy homes, while Dayton, Ohio is the most affordable.
While incomes may be higher in larger, coastal cities, that doesn’t mean it’s more affordable for baby boomers to buy a home there, according to Zillow data.
Zillow looked at median home prices in cities across the nation, and compared it to baby boomer economic data, such as median income in each metro area, to come up with the 10 most and 10 least affordable metros for those between the ages of 51 and 69.
Los Angeles emerged as the least affordable while Dayton, Ohio took the crown for most affordable. That has a lot to do with the gap between home prices and income, a disparity that widens further in the highest cost metros, says Svenja Gudell, senior director of economic research at Zillow.
“If you look at income, in Dayton your baby boomer median income is almost $64,000 and in L.A., it’s $73,000--it’s more in L.A. but the difference between 64 and 73 isn’t enough to make up for that fact that a house is going to be five times more expensive in L.A. than in Dayton,” she says.
In Los Angeles, the median home price is more than $534,000 while in Dayton the median price is just under $100,000.
“L.A. is one of the markets where a lot of investors have been very active in, so there’s very little inventory at the bottom of the market,” she says. “Also, some folks are still underwater, and the negative equity hit the homeowners toward the bottom end of the market more than the higher end.”
Least Affordable Metros for Baby Boomers
1. Los Angeles
2. San Francisco
3. San Diego
4. San Jose
5. Honolulu
6. Miami
7. Charleston, S.C.
8. New York
9. Bradenton, Fla.
10. Denver
Most Affordable Metros for Baby Boomers
1. Dayton, Ohio
2. Harrisburg, Penn.
3. Akron, Ohio
4. Buffalo, N.Y.
5. Rochester, N.Y.
6. Youngstown, Ohio
7. Allentown, Penn.
8. Scranton, Penn.
9. Toledo, Ohio
10. Syracuse, N.Y.
While incomes may be higher in larger, coastal cities, that doesn’t mean it’s more affordable for baby boomers to buy a home there, according to Zillow data.
Los Angeles emerged as the least affordable while Dayton, Ohio took the crown for most affordable. That has a lot to do with the gap between home prices and income, a disparity that widens further in the highest cost metros, says Svenja Gudell, senior director of economic research at Zillow.
“If you look at income, in Dayton your baby boomer median income is almost $64,000 and in L.A., it’s $73,000--it’s more in L.A. but the difference between 64 and 73 isn’t enough to make up for that fact that a house is going to be five times more expensive in L.A. than in Dayton,” she says.
In Los Angeles, the median home price is more than $534,000 while in Dayton the median price is just under $100,000.
“L.A. is one of the markets where a lot of investors have been very active in, so there’s very little inventory at the bottom of the market,” she says. “Also, some folks are still underwater, and the negative equity hit the homeowners toward the bottom end of the market more than the higher end.”
Least Affordable Metros for Baby Boomers
1. Los Angeles
2. San Francisco
3. San Diego
4. San Jose
5. Honolulu
6. Miami
7. Charleston, S.C.
8. New York
9. Bradenton, Fla.
10. Denver
Most Affordable Metros for Baby Boomers
1. Dayton, Ohio
2. Harrisburg, Penn.
3. Akron, Ohio
4. Buffalo, N.Y.
5. Rochester, N.Y.
6. Youngstown, Ohio
7. Allentown, Penn.
8. Scranton, Penn.
9. Toledo, Ohio
10. Syracuse, N.Y.
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