What Are the Most Affordable Cities for Renters to Become Buyers?

Close your eyes and point at a home in Oklahoma City, Okla., and you have a nearly three-out-four chance of finding a reasonably priced house. But for renters looking to move to homeownership in high-cost cities with low housing inventory, the odds are not in their favor. Take Los Angeles for example: Affordable housing has a mere seven percent share of the market, according to a study by First American Financial Corporation that analyzed what a median-earning renter could afford to buy in the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. during the third quarter of 2019. Find out the prospects for renters to achieve their homeownership dreams in your city. 

Buying a first home is something most people aspire to. Of course, the ability to do it is largely dependent on where they live, or want to live. So where can first-time buyers actually afford a home? A recent study sought to answer that question by considering the income of renters, who, after all, are prospective new owners.

The study by First American Financial Corporation, a company offering title insurance and related services, looked at what a median-earning renter could afford to buy in America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas during the third quarter of 2019. (These were government-defined metro areas, including surrounding counties that were socioeconomically tied to their cities by commuting.)

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