Rankings considered housing affordability compared to median wages.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Portland’s wages are stagnating as housing costs soar.
So, where did the city land on Forbes’ list of most overpriced cities?
Rankings considered housing affordability compared to median wages.
To find the Most Overpriced cities, we started with America’s 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Metropolitan Divisions (MDs), all with populations of 600,000 or more. MSAs and MDs are cities and their surrounding suburbs as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. First we looked at housing affordability, using the latest (Q4 2014) Housing Opportunity Index from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. The quarterly index weighs median prices for homes sold against median income levels to determine the percentage of homes that are affordable to residents making the median income.
(SOURCE: Forbes)
Using that methodology, the publication found Portland to be the 21st most overpriced city, ahead of Los Angeles, Fresno and Philadelphia, among others.
Stumptown’s stats:
Median Income: $69,400
Q4 2014 median sales price: $271,000
Housing affordable at median family income: 55.3%
Cost Above National Average: Groceries: 2.4%; Utilities: -4.2%; Transportation: 11.8%; Health: 12.7%; Misc.: 7.5%
(SOURCE: Forbes)
The most overpriced city? Honolulu.
