Redfin Reports Homebuying Affordability Is Improving in Atlanta
Thursday, August 7th, 2025
Homebuyers need to earn $112,131 per year to afford the $447,035 median priced U.S. home, little changed (+0.5%) from a year ago. But in 11 of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas, the income needed to afford a home has declined. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.
|
U.S. Metro |
Income need to afford median-priced home |
YoY change in income required to afford median-priced home |
|
Oakland, CA |
$244,073 |
-4.6% |
|
West Palm Beach, FL |
$128,950 |
-3.7% |
|
Jacksonville, FL |
$94,618 |
-3.5% |
|
San Diego, CA |
$227,612 |
-3.2% |
|
Tampa, FL |
$97,463 |
-2.1% |
|
Atlanta, GA |
$103,719 |
-2% |
|
Phoenix, AZ |
$109,719 |
-1.8% |
|
St. Louis, MO |
$75,478 |
-1% |
|
Orlando, FL |
$104,644 |
-0.7% |
|
Sacramento, CA |
$150,939 |
-0.4% |
|
Dallas, TX |
$120,542 |
-0.2% |
The income needed to afford a home is falling in the aforementioned 11 metros because home prices are falling. In Oakland, for example, the median home sale price fell 4.6% year over year in June—the largest decline among the top 50 metros. Next came West Palm Beach (-4.1%) and Jacksonville (-3.9%).
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The majority of these 11 metros are in Sun Belt states that exploded in popularity and price during the pandemic and are now seeing home prices come back down to earth. Many pandemic boomtowns ramped up construction to accommodate newcomers, leading to an influx of supply that put downward pressure on home prices.
"Buyers are battling affordability and they see a lot of listings sitting on the market, so they’re asking for major concessions," said Katie Shook, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Phoenix. "We’ve been in a buyer’s market for the past eight months. If your home isn’t in 10/10 condition and priced at or below market value, it’s going to linger on the market. A lot of sellers are offering $10,000-$15,000 to cover the buyer’s closing costs to seal the deal. Some home features, like a landscaped backyard or pool, aren’t getting the return they used to. Buyers are no longer willing to pay a premium for those things."
Four of the 11 metros where the income needed to afford a home is falling are in Florida, which has also seen home prices drop amid soaring insurance and HOA costs, along with intensifying natural disasters.
While homebuying has become more affordable in some parts of the country, the typical household still earns far less than it needs to afford the typical home; the typical U.S. household earns an estimated $86,258—roughly $25,000 less than the income required to afford the typical home for sale.
Affordable Midwest Metros See Biggest Jump in Income Needed to Buy a Home
America’s most affordable places are seeing the biggest jumps in the income needed to afford a home—likely in part because their low cost of living has attracted homebuyers, pushing up prices.
In Detroit, the income needed to afford a home is up 9.9% year over year, the biggest increase among the top 50 metros. But it’s still only at $57,432—the lowest in the country. That’s because even though Detroit’s median sale price is up 8.6% year over year—the second biggest increase in the nation—it remains the lowest in the country ($215,000).
Cleveland saw the second biggest increase in the income needed to afford a home (+8.2% year over year), followed by Newark, NJ (+6.8%), Chicago (+6.7%) and Pittsburgh (+5.7%).
