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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis is the best market in the country for first-time home buyers, according to an analysis by Zillow, an online real estate site.
The study found the median home value in Indianapolis is $130,000 this year and the supply of those homes is high. It also found it takes just 11 percent of a buyer’s monthly income to make the average mortgage payment.
Pittsburgh and Memphis, Tennessee, ranked second and third on the list.
Salt Lake City; Washington, D.C.; and New York are the toughest places for first-time home buyers, according to the report.
Zillow looked at median home values, affordability, inventory and cash-buyer competition when compiling its list.
The website said renters in Indianapolis spend an average of 26 percent of their incomes on rent payments.
A separate Zillow analysis found that roughly 12 percent of homeowners nationwide remain underwater on their mortgages—even five years after the economic recovery began.
In the Indianapolis metro area, the numbers are worse: More than 15 percent of borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, according to the recently released Negative Equity Report. That’s up slightly from 2015.
The report found that in the Indianapolis area, more than 21 percent of urban homeowners are underwater on their mortgages, while just 14 percent of suburbanites are in the same situation.•
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