Study: Wichita Falls named best small city to find starter home

With the price of homes in the U.S. outpacing income by nearly 4 to 1, finding an affordable “starter” home is more difficult than ever. In a recent study, Wichita Falls took first place among small metro areas as the best place to find an affordable starter home.

The study, published by Construction Coverage, looked at the best locations in the United States that had both the supply of available homes and ones that were affordable for first-time home buyers.

Construction Coverage complied scores based on percentage of homes with three or fewer bedrooms, median sale price of these homes, months-supply of houses for sale and homeownership rates for residents younger than 35.

The price of housing is fast outpacing people’s incomes. Adjusted for inflation, from 2020 to 2021, home values increased by nearly 38 percent while median household income rose just 8.78 percent.

The U.S. continues to see a shortage of smaller, affordable homes as new construction favors larger, more lucrative builds. Today, just 6.2 percent of new builds are single-family, one- or two-bedroom homes while houses with four or more bedrooms represents nearly half of new builds.

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced real estate preferences with people eyeing homes with more living space, expanded geographic choices given the availability of remote work and an exodus of heavily populated, increasingly pricey large metro areas.

More recently, persistent inflation has led to higher prices for household essentials, including rent, and mortgage rates that are more than double what they were at the beginning of 2022.

With a lower-than-average cost of living and ample access to affordable homes, Wichita Falls stood out as a beacon of hope for those still intent on the American dream of homeownership.

In the Wichita Falls metro area, just over 80 percent of homes had three or fewer bedrooms compared to 67.8 percent in the entire U.S.

Additionally, while the median home price in the U.S. was just over $300,000 in the Wichita Falls area the median price is less than half that at approximately $138,000.

Wichita Falls also boasts a 12-month housing supply while the U.S. average is 2 months.

Homeownership rates for individuals under 35 years old were slightly higher in Wichita Falls at 13 percent versus the U.S. average of 10.7 percent.

Another Texas winner was Beaumont-Port Arthur which ranked best for starter homes in a midsize metro area.

For large metro areas, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, came in tops with a median sale price of just over $190,000 for starter homes and a nearly three-month supply.

At the state level, West Virginia ranked the best state in which to find a new starter home in the U.S.

Data for this study came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow and Redfin.

See the full study and how Wichita Falls compares to other metro areas at https://constructioncoverage.com/research/the-best-cities-to-find-a-starter-home-2022.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls named best small city to find starter home