Houston First Time Home Buyers Most and Least Affordable Areas To Buy a Home
In 2019 the median home price was $248,900, now it is a bit above $330,000 and was over $354,000 a few months ago in June 2022. That is an increase of more than $100,000, so said The Houston Association of Realtors, as housing affordability continue to be a challenge for many home buyers in the Greater Houston area.
Accordingly, less households can afford to purchase a median-price home now, compare to a year ago. A year ago, 51% of Texas could afford to purchase a median price home, now only 39% can afford the same price home.
The median home price in the Houston area grew 12.8 percent to $349,500 in the third quarter of 2022. Forty-one percent of households in the Houston area earned the minimum annual income needed to purchase a home at the median price. That’s down from 53 percent in the third quarter of 2021.
While the monthly mortgage payment on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, including taxes and insurance, rose to $2,250 from $1,590 a year ago, home buyers now needed to earn 41.5 percent more income annually than they did a year ago, to afford a median-priced home.
Housing affordability have increased in 10 counties that includes Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery and Polk, but decreased in 4 counties (Liberty, San Jacinto, Walker, Wharton).
The most affordable counties were Polk County (55 percent), Chambers County (52 percent), and Wharton County (49 percent). In Polk County, the minimum household income needed to qualify for a $185,000 home was $47,200.
In Harris County, Memorial Villages and West University Place were the least affordable with only 3 percent of households in Harris County is able to afford the median-priced home in the communities. Purchasing a median-priced home in Memorial Villages required the highest minimum household income of $480,400.
The Aldine area was the most affordable in Harris County—49 percent of Harris County households made the minimum annual income of $68,400 to afford a median-priced home in the Aldine area.
In Fort Bend County, Stafford was the most affordable area—66 percent of Fort Bend County households were able to afford the median-priced home in Stafford based on the minimum annual income of $69,600. Sienna was the least affordable (26 percent).
In Montgomery County, Conroe was the most affordable area—54 percent of households in the county were able to afford the median-priced home in Conroe based on the annual income. The Woodlands was the least affordable (27 percent) with households needing a minimum annual income of $156,800.
In Brazoria County, Angleton was the most affordable—64 percent of Brazoria County households were able to afford the median-priced home in Angleton based on the annual income. Manvel was the least affordable (27 percent).
In Galveston County, La Marque was the most affordable—53 percent of Galveston County households were able to afford the median-priced home in La Marque based on the annual income. Bolivar Peninsula was the least affordable (25 percent).
Helping you to make powerful and informed decisions. Thank you so much for stopping by. Until next time...Diana
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