Despite all of the weeping and wailing and declarations of housing crises, housing affordability reported by the 2017 American Community Survey did not change significantly from the 2016 survey. However, it is important to keep in mind that the financial data reported in each survey is from the previous year, so data reported in September 2018 from the 2017 survey is actually for 2016.
The most common measure of housing affordability is the ratio of median home prices with median family (or median household) incomes. (Family incomes are a little higher than household incomes, and since families, not households — including unrelated people who live together — tend to be homebuyers, the Antiplanner uses family incomes.) A value-to-income ratio below 3 is affordable; 3 to 5 is marginal; above 5 is unaffordable. Table B19113 of the American Community Survey reports median family incomes; table B25077 reports median home values.
The Antiplanner has posted a file showing median home values and median family incomes reported by both the 2016 and 2017 surveys (meaning the data are for 2015 and 2016) for the nation, states, and major counties, cities, and urban areas. Data reported for counties, cities, or urban areas in 2016 but not 2017 are excluded; data reported in 2017 but not 2016 are included with zeroes in the 2016 columns. Continue reading
