Wilmington housing affordability (Asheville, Star: sales, real estate, mortgage)

[le roi]

I found a study I thought would be of interest to this board.

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf
Page 28, "International Housing Affordability Rankings: All Markets"


As of 3Q 2011, Wilmington is ranked as the 186th most affordable housing market in America, out of 211 -- or, to put it another way, the 25th least affordable housing market in America. Affordability is calculated as (median home price / median income).

Wilmington housing is actually less affordable, relative to income, than many cities you wouldn't expect:
-Denver, CO
-Miami, FL
-Philadelphia, PA
-Pittsburgh, PA
-Baltimore, MD
-New Haven, CT
-Hartford, CT
-Atlantic City, NJ
-Austin, TX
-New Orleans, LA
-Portland, OR
-Chicago, IL
-Savannah, GA
-Sarasota, FL
-Tampa, FL
-Charleston, SC
-Myrtle Beach, SC
-Asheville, NC
-Salt Lake City, UT


So keep that in mind when they tell you how big of a bargain it is.

[yellow.honda]

That's based on an average home price of $190K, Zillow has the average home price around the 140k mark? List price around $197K and average sale price trending around 160k. You can make statistics say anything, just saying.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by yellow.honda

That's based on an average home price of $190K

It uses the median home price, not the average.

Zillow has the average home price around the 140k mark? List price around $197K and average sale price trending around 160k.

The study doesn't use zillow data.

You can make statistics say anything, just saying.

yup, and in this case they say that Wilmington real estate is some of the least affordable in America.

[macjr82]

Who has said that Wilmington is such a great bargain except for retirees or people moving from places in the bottom 25 behind Wilmington, like NYC, DC, and Boston? It seems I always here people from Wilmington complaining how expensive it is to live there, but I never here anybody from outside the area saying it's cheap.

Also, as I've said before, one thing that makes WIlmington is expensive is there are no unskilled mid-tier jobs. It's low-wage service jobs, thenit jumps to bio-tech, medical, and skilled labor jobs.

[Richard Martin]

Here's another one from John Burns Consulting. It puts Wilmington at number 13. When you look at the list you'll see Wilmington at number 11 but don't forget to add on the two that are at the very top of the lists.

Free local housing affordability statistics John Burns Real Estate Consulting | John Burns Real Estate Consulting

[yellow.honda]

Here's an article that shows median home price at $165k, in the Stars news.

Wilmington-area home sales jumped in May | Biz Picture

[le roi]

Originally Posted by yellow.honda

Here's an article that shows median home price at $165k, in the Stars news.

Wilmington-area home sales jumped in May | Biz Picture

That uses Wilmington MLS data, which includes areas far outside of Wilmington that are not in the city or the MSA, like Bladen, Onslow, or Sampson Counties.

The author doesn't say specifically where he got his Wilmington data, but he mentions he acquired data (in general) from the Harvard University Joint Center on Housing , and the National Association of Homebuilders.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by macjr82

Who has said that Wilmington is such a great bargain except for retirees or people moving from places in the bottom 25 behind Wilmington, like NYC, DC, and Boston?

mostly the building industry , the real estate sales industry, the mortgage industry, the finance industry, the local government leaders, and the people who already own real estate. that is : most people.

and in our case, you can include the people at the university who get paid to study it. rose-colored glasses are common fashion item here.

[yellow.honda]

Recent article of interest showing home price affordability covering 2500 markets done by Caldwell banker.

Wilmington a relative bargain in national Coldwell Banker price survey | Biz Picture

[le roi]

Originally Posted by yellow.honda

Recent article of interest showing home price affordability covering 2500 markets done by Caldwell banker.

Wilmington a relative bargain in national Coldwell Banker price survey | Biz Picture

this is exactly the kind of rose-colored glasses i am talking about.

how in the world do they figure that wilmington ranking 1369th out of 2500 in average price constitutes a "bargain" ? I can only assume that the star news takes their article copy directly from the realtors association.

that means Wilmington is the 50th most affordable city in North Carolina, out of 69.