Monday, March 20, 2006

TownScores™ Housing Comparison

TownScores™ Housing Comparison

Median Years Since a Home Was Built
Seattle 45.7 years
Austin 21.8 years
Atlanta 36.9 years
Miami 35.8 years
San Diego 27.4 years
Tucson 26.8 years
US Average 27.2 years
Median Home Cost
Seattle $459,800
Austin $167,900
Atlanta $185,100
Miami $387,800
San Diego $491,000
Tucson $175,100
US Average $208,500
Home Appreciation Rate
Seattle 12.15%
Austin 1.96%
Atlanta 4.86%
Miami 21.00%
San Diego 9.00%
Tucson 15.64%
US Average 13.62%
Apartment Rent
Seattle $840
Austin $804
Atlanta $818
Miami $967
San Diego $1,158
Tucson $746
US Average $653

It's stunning to me that Seattle and Austin rents are almost equal, whereas a house in Seattle costs 2.7 times as much! Seems like the sensible thing to do is sell the Seattle house, and buy two houses in Austin — one to occupy, and one to rent out...

Home Ownership vs. Renting
Owners, Seattle 46.97%
Renters, Seattle 49.48%
Owners, Austin 43.75%
Renters, Austin 53.30%
Owners, Atlanta 39.28%
Renters, Atlanta 50.63%
Owners, Miami 31.46%
Renters, Miami 58.59%
Owners, San Diego 46.45%
Renters, San Diego 47.02%
Owners, Tucson 49.96%
Renters, Tucson 43.70%
Owners, US Average 64.07%
Renters, US Average 21.45%
Sources: Factfinder.census.gov - Housing - Financial Charactersitics Sperling's Best Places

3 Comments:

At Wednesday, March 22, 2006 9:50:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent work. Thanks for the hardwork.

 
At Friday, March 24, 2006 12:20:00 PM, Blogger Katemonster said...

Given that I have a friend in Austin who bought a house with her husband while both were grad students in history (whereas I couldn't even afford to buy in Seattle as a professor), this didn't surprise me so much.

I have one super-naive question though: does "median home age" refer to the age of the home, or of the homeowner, or of the first time home buyer, or what?

Anyway, interesting blog. This Seattleite will return.

 
At Friday, March 24, 2006 7:13:00 PM, Blogger Monte Hayward said...

It refers to the average number of years since the house was built. I'll change the labeling to make it clearer. Thanks dropping in and giving feedback!
--Monte

 

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