In his latest Economic Perspectives column, Washington Trust Bank Economist Steve Scranton explores housing affordability. His findings mirror much of what we already know from The Housing Affordability & Availability Study for Kootenai County.
Some key takeaways from Scranton’s column:
“Home price increases have hit three of the Mountain West states hard as mortgage payments at today’s home prices and mortgage rate will consume over 50% of the average worker’s earnings.” In Idaho, that figure is 57.2%
“The three markets that Washington Trust Bank serves rank in the top 15 for lack of housing affordability.” Idaho came in at No. 3.
“The challenge for a couple desiring to buy a house is now a threefold problem: Housing is becoming less affordable due to the home price increases. The dollar size of the down payment increases as home prices increase. It becomes more difficult to save up the down payment when your rent price is increasing.”
Read the column HERE and learn how Idaho’s housing availability and affordability compares to other states.