I’ve often written about how real estate prices have affected members of my own family. Of our four kids, two live in Colorado and can only afford to live in a nice, peaceful town well outside the troubled Denver area because they combine not two but three incomes. Our other two live in deep-red Iowa, in the same small town, where they are easily able to afford nice homes.
They have a lot of company. Realtor.com has just released its latest Affordability and Homebuilding report cards, and I should note that, while Colorado comes in at #27 with a grade of C in the report, Iowa is in third place for affordability with an A-. Colorado has a median listing price of $599,104 and a median household income of $90,555; Iowa has a median listing price of $294,600 and a median household income of $73,122.
A look at all the rankings is revealing. The three states with A ratings are red states: South Carolina, Iowa, and Texas. The next five in the ranking are Indiana, North Carolina, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas.
Seven states come in with an F listing: Oregon, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Notice anything those states have in common?
Now, while Hawaii is a deep-blue state, one can see how it would be an expensive place to live regardless; it’s an island into which everything has to be shipped, making everything more expensive. We have something of the same problem here in Alaska, which comes in at #43 with a C-. Stuff does cost more in the Great Land.