Monday, July 09, 2007

Affordability Eroding at the Highest Rates in North Nashville

NashPo has a story today on the declining housing market around Nashville. According to the piece, home sales across the board continue to drop but the median price of homes continues to rise. This tandem might suggest that buyers are leaving the lower, more affordable end of the market.

An indicator of eroding affordability is apartment rent prices; Nashville's rent has started to climb (accounting for inflation) for the first time since 2001. According to NashPo, North Nashville had the largest increase in rent of any other Metro submarket area: it jumped 33+% from last year to this year ($545 to $728).

Eroding affordability at a nearly 35% clip means that fewer and fewer Nashvillians have the opportunity to buy and to live in the North End, and it means that we are in danger of losing our economic diversity as the low end of the market pushes up through the middle class and hemorrhages more potential home buyers along its way.

3 comments:

  1. The caption doesn't make any sense.

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  2. Nor does the headline.

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  3. It means the inflation rate of real-estate DOES NOT MATCH the inflation of wages.

    In the mid 60's the average annual income ranged from $8,000 to $13,000. The average home cost $10,000 to $30,000.

    Today the average income is $30,000 - $40,000. Most homes today cost $200,000 - $500,000.

    Mikes post makes perfect sense to me.

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