r/USHousingMarket

With the ongoing affordability crisis, I’m curious what people think are the most affordable places to live in the U.S. right now.

A new Redfin article highlighted cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Warren, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis as some of the cheapest places to live because of their relatively high incomes and lower housing costs.

Do you agree with these picks? Are there other affordable cities you’d add to the list?

According to a new Redfin report, homebuyer demand is starting to pick up again as the job market improves and Americans feel more confident about their finances. At the same time, price cuts are becoming slightly less common as some sellers regain a bit more negotiating power.

There are still more homes for sale in many markets than there were a year ago, but inventory growth has started to slow. As competition among sellers starts to cool, fewer homeowners may feel pressure to cut prices to attract buyers.

Do you think this is the beginning of the housing market shifting back toward sellers?

Even with steady income, the cost of homes keeps climbing. It makes the idea of owning one feel more distant for many people.

Things in my neighborhood have started feeling... off lately, and now I’m wondering if I should sell before home prices really start slipping

It didn’t happen all at once, but over the past few months there have been a couple of robberies nearby. It was enough to make people uneasy. What’s really gotten my attention is how quickly the mood around here changed. A few neighbors already listed their homes, and some seem willing to take lower offers just to move fast

Looked into some options and saw Cleveland Cash Offers, and started to take it more seriously about whether I should get out. I wouldn’t say the area is terrible right now, but it definitely feels like people are expecting things to get worse

Property values are dropping fast and more people start leaving. I’ve read stories about neighborhoods that slowly declined and then suddenly homes were sitting unsold or losing value fast

I think whether it’s smarter to sell while buyers are still around, even if I take a bit less, or stay and risk watching the value fall even more

Affordable starter homes are getting harder to find, especially in places like Southampton where the median home-sale price is around $1.7 million, according to Redfin. After being priced out of the traditional housing market, this Hamptons couple bought a 700-square-foot mobile home for $150K and spent the last year renovating it themselves. The “retro surf shack” is not only vibey, but their monthly costs are now lower than what they used to pay in rent.

As affordability continues to get worse in many high-cost areas, do you think more buyers will turn to mobile homes, trailers, tiny homes, or other nontraditional housing options as starter homes?

U.S. pending home sales have jumped 9.6% YoY to the highest level since September 2022. According to a new report from Redfin Real Estate, this is occurring in every major U.S. metro except for Houston, Detroit, and Seattle.

Stronger demand is coming from an improving job market, declining mortgage rates, and the spring home buying season. With demand improving, do you think the gap between buyers and sellers will continue to shrink?

For many, natural light is an important feature when looking for a place to live due to aesthetic charm, mood-boosting serotonin, and other practical and financial benefits. In fact, nearly 70% of people say the amount of sunlight in their home affects their living situation satisfaction, according to a recent Redfin survey.

Redfin’s new Sunscore feature tells home searchers exactly how much natural light a home receives on a scale of 0-100. Do you think this is useful when house hunting?

Buying a house, and putting it right back on the market for 40k more. And some people think nothing is wrong with the market.

The social norm of waiting until marriage to buy a home may be delaying women’s path to homeownership, according to a recent analysis from Redfin's Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. Single women buy their first home at age 34, while women who marry first buy at age 31. Men, on the other hand, tend to become homeowners at 33, before marriage and before children. While the income gap explains some of this, the homeownership gap is wider than the income gap and persists even among single women who out-earn single men.

With homeownership being the single largest source of wealth for most middle-class American households, this three-year gap can translate to tens of thousands in lost equity over time. Did you wait until marriage to buy a home, or did you buy while single?

This week, Redfin’s The Price Point series looks at what $250k can get in the best cities for new grads: Washington, D.C., New Orleans, LA, and Minneapolis, MN.

Here's the breakdown of the photos above:

• Washington, D.C.:
  • A smaller condo close to transit and nightlife – 542 sq ft
  • A larger condo slightly outside city center – 747 sq ft
• New Orleans, LA:
  • A single-family shotgun-style home – 1,330 sq ft
  • A cozy and spacious 3-bed 2-bath home – 1,975 sq ft
• Minneapolis, MN:
  • A starter home in Minneapolis’s Como neighborhood – 1,352 sq ft
  • A modern 2-bed 2-bath condo – 1,023 sq ft

If you were a recent grad, which city and property would you choose?

Tbh im kinda freaking out rn about selling our place... Weve lived in our 4 bed 3 bath house in Bethesda MD for the last 5 years. Its around 2200 sq ft with a finished basement we turned into a playroom and a nice deck out back for bbqs. We did new flooring and painted everything neutral but the hvac is getting old and the roof needs attention soon.

We listed it with a realtor last month at 625k hoping for a quick sale in the dc area but showings have been super slow and the two offers that came in were 40k under with repair demands we just dont have time for. Now with baby #2 due in 3 months and my wifes job moving us to philly everything feels rushed af.

Btw my coworker recommended 4 Brothers Buy houses after he used them last year for his place in silver spring. He said the cash as-is offer and fast close made everything way less stressful.

Has anyone here sold in the Bethesda or dc area on a tight timeline? Did you stick with the realtor or go the cash buyer way? What actually worked without losing too much money? Pls drop any advice... rlly dont wanna mess this up.