Report: 68 Percent of Homes in the DC Area Affordable to Millennials

• April 29th 2015

by Lark Turner

68 percent of homes in the DC area are affordable to the average millennial, according to a Zillow analysis published late Tuesday.

That figure is is in line with the national number, where 70 percent of homes are considered affordable to millennials. The Zillow analysis used data from the DC metro area, which draws from a large swath of the region. If the analysis zeroed in on DC proper, the share of homes that millennials could afford would undoubtedly be lower.

Zillow used the median income of millennials aged 23-34 and presumed they could spend no more than 30 percent of their annual income on a mortgage payment.

The DC area’s affordability varies from season to season; in the fourth quarter affordability spikes, while it typically falls mid-year. Affordability in the region has been on the rise over the last year. In the third quarter of 2013, affordability was at its lowest level in Zillow’s five-year analysis, at 55 percent. It stayed low through the third quarter of 2013, when it rose to 58 percent. But in the last quarter of 2014 it jumped 10 percentage points to 68 percent.

The metro area with the lowest affordability to millennials was Honolulu, where just 25 percent of the housing inventory was deemed affordable. In Akron, Ohio, 90 percent of millennials can afford to buy.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/zillow_68_percent_of_homes_in_the_dc_area_affordable_to_millennials/9824.