Dive Brief:
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First-time buyers in the nation’s 100-largest markets should look to the fringes for affordably priced housing, according to Trulia.
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In a new report, the real-estate listing website looked at area neighborhoods’ cost of living, amenities and entry-level housing prices, in addition to schools, crime rates and commute times. Redwood City, CA, offered the best value in the San Francisco Bay Area, while Burien, WA, and Yonkers, NY, had the best deals in Seattle and New York.
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The top-ranked neighborhoods in Miami and Chicago were the most affordable on the list, with median home values of $220,942 and $238,018, respectively. Meanwhile, the best-value neighborhood in the Bay Area had a median home value of $1,069,208.
Dive Insight:
While the neighborhoods identified by Trulia may offer some of the best values among the nation's top housing markets, most have median home prices well above the national median. Steadily increasing prices across these markets is fueling migration away from city centers and into the suburbs, spurring development there.
Industry observers had previously placed their bets on millennials moving toward urban cores. Today, nearly half of the members of that generational group already live in the suburbs and more are likely to move there as buyers of all ages seek lower housing costs and suburban communities that offer easy access to resources and amenities. It’s not just owners, however. Suburban renters are growing in number (and faster than their urban counterparts), though more affordable suburban rents may prove short-lived.
In Seattle, as in other major metros, population growth is stressing urban inventory, causing residents to look to fringe communities for lower-cost housing. Mass-transit typically follows, and developers trail with a mix of housing inventory. As one example, Seattle is underway with plans to better connect the city’s downtown and the greater metro area through rapid-bus services and 62 miles of light rail. However, a portion of the light rail included in the overarching Sound Transit 3 plan could be in danger if the 2018 federal budget strips funding from one of the project's crucial grant programs.
In the Washington, DC, metro, population growth just outside The District’s borders in Maryland and Virginia has been a key driver of Maryland's Purple Line. The light rail project would connect to DC’s Metrorail system. However, it has faced numerous setbacks including, most recently, a requirement to submit new ridership figures as the area's Metro faces declining business.