Most American metropolitan areas may now be out of financial reach.
Those who make the federal median income can only afford a mid-level priced home in 10 of the 25 biggest urban areas in the United States, Market Watch reported on Friday.
Though these numbers look grim, they're up from last year when just eight urban areas were affordable on a medium income. It's still lower than 2012 when 14 out of 25 of those neighborhoods were affordable. The findings were unveiled in a study by interest.com.
The growth of multi-family buildings in cities come from families being priced out of buying homes. Many also move to small cities and towns, according to Stuart Gabriel, director of UCLA's Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate.
"The consequences are large," he says, "and they're not just about affordability. It affects economic growth and economic viability of our major metropolitan areas."
Working from home and freelancing may be appropriate for some, but soaring costs may especially people who need to work and be close to cities.
"Teachers, firefighters and police, these are people who are absolutely essential to the functioning of our urban areas, are priced out of those areas and have to commute long distances to get to work," Gabriel said "It's certainly true here in L.A."
The most affordable cities are Minneapolis, Atlanta, St. Louis and Detroit. The study also says that over half of Americans have sacrificed something to make a mortgage or rent payment in the last three years.
