CLEVELAND, Ohio — A recent study found Cleveland to be among the top 20 most affordable U.S. metros to buy or rent a home.
Clever Real Estate, an online real estate resource, ranked the metros based on several factors, including a home-buying affordability ratio, which was calculated by dividing the median home value by the median household income, as well as rental rates. The study also looked at insurance rates, property rates and energy costs, for 100 of the largest metros in the country.
Cleveland was ranked No. 15 overall.
The city’s home-buying affordability ratio was 3.6, which Clever Real Estate said was below the national average of 4.8. The most affordable zipcode in Cleveland’s metro is Brook Park, according to the study. Los Angeles was found the have the highest home-buying affordability ratio at 10.9.
The study ranked Cleveland as the 11th most affordable place to buy with the typical home value being $233,535 and an average monthly mortgage payment, including tax and insurance on a 30-year-mortgage with 20% down, of $1,575. Clever Real Estate noted that Cleveland also has the 5th lowest homeowners insurance rates in the country at $1,025.
The study also found that Cleveland’s typical rent is $1,455 a month, which is about 26.8% of the median household income and 30% lower than the national average of $2,070.
Taking the top spot was Toledo, which was determined to have a typical home value of $190,669, a 3.1 home-buying affordability ratio and an average monthly mortgage of $1,286.
Rounding out the top five:
- Wichita, Kansas – Typical home value: $218,458/monthly mortgage of $1,595
- Little Rock, Arkansas – Typical home value: $222,138/monthly mortgage: of $1,416
- Akron – Typical home value: $223,354/monthly mortgage of $1,506
- Pittsburgh – Typical home value: $216,843/monthly mortgage of $1,437
Other Ohio cities that made the top 50 were Cincinnati and Columbus, which also helped make Ohio the most affordable state in the country followed by Pennsylvania. Clever Real Estate said it attributes Ohio’s standing to “modest home and rental costs, reasonable median incomes and below-average homeowners insurance rates.”
