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Atlanta named top 10 affordable metro for renters to buy

by Sonia Weiser

metro-atlanta-housing-march-abr

The National Association of Realtors compared nearly 100 metropolitan areas and found the top 10 metros where renters would be able to afford housing with data such as employment growth, household income, and qualifying income levels.

Atlanta landed the No. 7 position due to a 3.2 percent increase in employment growth, and its share of renters qualifying to buy homes averaging at 40 percent.

The qualifying income for those in Atlanta to buy a home averaged at $45,078, yet the median household income was $70,323. The number of renters with household income above qualifying income in 2015 was 296,514.

According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, “the homeownership rate recently tumbled to its lowest level in over five decades,” however, he explains renters shouldn’t lose hope. With encouragement from the new NAR study, Yu explained “there are several affordable, middle-tier markets with solid job gains and a large segment of renters who earn enough to buy.”

Most of the top markets are located in the Midwest and South due to their median home prices being lower than other regions. The national level of renters able to qualify to buy a house averages 28 percent.

The top 10 affordable metros and their percent of qualifying renters are as followed:

  1. Toledo, Ohio with 46%
  2.  Little Rock, AR with 46%
  3. Dayton, Ohio with 44%
  4. Lakeland, FL with 41%
  5. St. Louis, MO with 41%
  6. Columbia, SC with 41%
  7. Atlanta, GA with 40%
  8. Columbus, Ohio with 38%
  9. Tampa, FL with 38%
  10. Ogden, Utah with 38%

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