Looking for a Bargain on Housing? Dallas Isn't the Place Anymore

Buying a home in Dallas isn’t a bargain anymore, not like it used to be.For decades, this region’s low cost of living has attracted families and employers from around the country, helping the economy weather the booms and busts of the oil business. Now that competitive advantage is eroding in a big way.Since 2010, the median price for new and existing homes sold in the Dallas-Plano-Irving area has soared 77 percent. Over the same time, median incomes are up just 4 percent.As a result, buying a home in Dallas is beyond the reach of many, according to a measure of affordability. In 2010, almost 80 percent of homes sold in Dallas were affordable to families earning the median income. By late 2016, just 50 percent were affordable.That’s Dallas’ lowest score since 1991, when the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index was launched.“That’s a pretty dramatic decline in affordability,” said Laila Assanie, a senior business economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “Affordability for apartments has fallen, too.”  Continue reading...

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