Homeownership now ‘unaffordable’ in these 57 counties: study

(NEXSTAR) – Most of us know we can’t afford a home in Beverly Hills or Cape Cod, but it’s not just wealthy enclaves where the prospect of owning a home has grown out of reach.

As home prices have skyrocketed over the past few years, locals – who haven’t seen their wages skyrocket to match – are finding it harder and harder to enter the housing market.

Personal finance site MoneyGeek analyzed the rising cost of real estate in metro areas around the country and compared home appreciation between 2021 and 2023 to changes in income during the same time period. They compiled a list of 57 counties were homeownership has recently become unaffordable for the typical family.

New to the list are the exurbs of San Francisco and several Sacramento-area counties. People priced out of the core Bay Area have flocked to other Northern California locales, and now those places, like Placer, Solano and San Joaquin counties, are seeing home prices spike out of reach.

Further north along the West Coast, 10 counties in Oregon and Washington are facing the same problem. In Clackamas County, just outside Portland, home prices have grown 33% in two years, according to MoneyGeek’s analysis.

Another area seeing rapid growth and gentrification is Travis County, Texas, home to the state capital of Austin. MoneyGeek found home prices there rose by nearly 50% since 2021 to a new median price of $610,000.

For their analysis, MoneyGeek only looked at counties with populations larger than 250,000 that are experiencing population growth higher than the national average.

See the full list of 57 counties where the cost of owning a home has grown “unaffordable” below:

Rank	County	Metro area	Median household income	Median home price	Home price growth in last 2 years
1	Placer County, CA	Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA	$105,445	$740,068	25.9%
2	Norfolk County, MA	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$115,969	$740,967	34.0%
3	Washoe County, NV	Reno, NV	$80,125	$568,847	33.9%
4	San Joaquin County, CA	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$86,056	$553,133	29.7%
5	Clackamas County, OR	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$97,419	$639,349	33.4%
6	Solano County, CA	Vallejo-Fairfield, CA	$92,959	$633,442	27.6%
7	Lane County, OR	Eugene, OR	$64,069	$461,421	40.5%
8	Contra Costa County, CA	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	$120,061	$875,183	40.7%
9	Washington County, OR	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$98,906	$598,213	25.8%
10	Essex County, MA	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$92,413	$650,959	30.2%
11	Sacramento County, CA	Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA	$84,211	$550,422	28.3%
12	Larimer County, CO	Fort Collins, CO	$88,403	$639,709	44.0%
13	Denver County, CO	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	$88,213	$681,243	41.1%
14	Marion County, OR	Salem, OR	$71,022	$439,919	37.6%
15	Ada County, ID	Boise City, ID	$87,774	$572,812	42.1%
16	Essex County, NJ	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	$74,994	$543,648	29.2%
17	Travis County, TX	Austin-Round Rock, TX	$95,259	$609,625	49.9%
18	Riverside County, CA	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$86,748	$609,299	42.8%
19	Merced County, CA	Merced, CA	$66,164	$430,766	38.2%
20	Plymouth County, MA	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$103,173	$578,535	35.9%
21	Fresno County, CA	Fresno, CA	$69,571	$424,915	34.2%
22	Snohomish County, WA	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$101,532	$759,090	47.9%
23	Worcester County, MA	Worcester, MA-CT	$86,258	$464,541	36.7%
24	Kitsap County, WA	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA	$94,775	$565,134	33.4%
25	Salt Lake County, UT	Salt Lake City, UT	$91,924	$588,713	43.8%
26	Spokane County, WA	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$69,070	$470,279	56.1%
27	Arapahoe County, CO	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	$93,784	$605,759	36.8%
28	Dane County, WI	Madison, WI	$84,831	$432,643	38.7%
29	Clark County, NV	Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	$70,797	$479,988	41.8%
30	Charleston County, SC	Charleston-North Charleston, SC	$80,401	$557,579	51.0%
31	Utah County, UT	Provo-Orem, UT	$95,338	$609,398	49.8%
32	Clark County, WA	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$91,248	$543,165	35.0%
33	Thurston County, WA	Olympia-Tumwater, WA	$88,853	$533,152	41.2%
34	Fulton County, GA	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$90,346	$538,765	38.3%
35	Collier County, FL	Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL	$80,815	$657,623	63.8%
36	Pierce County, WA	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$93,420	$575,639	46.4%
37	Davidson County, TN	Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN	$72,473	$489,829	54.7%
38	El Paso County, CO	Colorado Springs, CO	$82,389	$501,128	38.1%
39	Broward County, FL	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$70,978	$500,480	52.9%
40	Cumberland County, ME	Portland-South Portland, ME	$89,345	$526,852	57.7%
41	Williamson County, TN	Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN	$129,275	$862,333	61.9%
42	Buncombe County, NC	Asheville, NC	$68,019	$464,935	56.0%
43	Palm Beach County, FL	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$76,592	$524,918	54.7%
44	Alachua County, FL	Gainesville, FL	$58,354	$338,834	42.8%
45	Williamson County, TX	Austin-Round Rock, TX	$101,323	$520,953	54.6%
46	Hays County, TX	Austin-Round Rock, TX	$88,617	$464,991	54.3%
47	Manatee County, FL	North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL	$72,108	$476,592	58.4%
48	Canyon County, ID	Boise City, ID	$70,818	$439,226	60.3%
49	St. Lucie County, FL	Port St. Lucie, FL	$62,705	$397,522	59.2%
50	Orange County, FL	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$72,324	$445,503	54.5%
51	Maricopa County, AZ	Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	$83,747	$516,442	53.5%
52	Sarasota County, FL	North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL	$78,341	$508,658	67.1%
53	Mecklenburg County, NC	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$80,365	$471,823	58.6%
54	Osceola County, FL	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$63,271	$396,311	58.3%
55	Lee County, FL	Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	$71,072	$440,056	64.0%
56	Durham County, NC	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$80,089	$452,381	71.4%
57	Hillsborough County, FL	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	$74,308	$436,723	60.3%

See more data on each of the 57 counties from MoneyGeek here.

One thing that’s made homeownership unrealistic for many the past two years has been climbing interest rates. However, housing economists expect that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will decline this year. Don’t expect anything drastic — forecasts generally see it moving no lower than 6%.

Despite mostly falling since October 2023, the average rate on a 30-year home loan remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.22%. That large gap between rates now and then has helped limit the number of previously occupied homes on the market by discouraging homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates from selling.

“While lower mortgage rates are welcome news, potential homebuyers are still dealing with the dual challenges of low inventory and high home prices that continue to rise,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.