Affordable Housing?
January 14, 2021
I was reading an article the other day about the affordable housing issue that we have in many cities in the United States.
This started me thinking…
Is affordable housing and affordable home ownership the same thing?
The answer that I reached is no. They are not the same.
Affordable housing talks about both a home purchase and a rental rate. These two different markets do have something to do with one another. Normally a monthly payment on a rental is significantly higher than the monthly home-loan payment.
Affordable home ownership is simply how affordable a home is to purchase. This has factors that affect the pricing like interest rates and down payment requirements.
If you watch, you may see one increase as the other does. Both the rental and purchase markets can outgrow the populations ability to pay the going rates. When this happens, we have a housing and home-ownership affordability problem.
So, next time you see something talking about housing affordability, look a little deeper to see what they are actually talking about. This may help you make that decision between home ownership now and waiting to see if prices get better.
Southern Breezes Real Estate
Charleston SC
