In Which U.S. Cities Is It Hardest to Buy a Home?

Even before the coronavirus, buying a home was not a walk in the park for many Americans, especially for those located in areas with high costs of living such as Southern California. SmartAsset analyzed the 100 largest cities based on the affordability of a downpayment, available housing inventory, and the median price of a home, and it found the top 25 cities where it is hardest to buy a home in the United States. See if your city made the list.

While affording a down payment may be the largest challenge to buying a home, many other factors play into finding the right place to take out a mortgage and put down roots. Inventory and pricing vary widely by city and affect buyers’ options and ability to negotiate. The coronavirus pandemic has certainly complicated many people’s home buying prospects as they face greater unemployment and investment losses. Though mortgage rates initially ticked upward in March as the crisis intensified in the U.S., mortgage rates typically fall when an economy slows. As such, prospective buyers should have patience and do their research.

In this study, we uncovered the cities where it is hardest to buy a home, accounting for affordability, inventory and pricing in each place. Specifically, we analyzed the down payment-to-income ratio, the number of homes on the market compared to number of households and the average price cut for homes that sold recently. For details on our data sources and how we put all the information together to create our final rankings, check out the Data and Methodology section below.

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