Great news for us Realtors in West Michigan- Grand Rapids is one of America’s most affordable cities to buy a house, according to a new report from CNN published May 24, 2010. Grand Rapids came in fifth after Indianapolis, Youngstown, OH, Syracuse, NY, and Dayton, OH. With collective data from National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo, the median home price in Grand Rapids is $102,000, with a median income of $62,500 and an affordability score of 93.7%.
This medium-sized, western Michigan city flourished during the 19th century by turning nearby hardwood forests into furniture. Golden oak cabinets, dining tables and chairs once crafted in the area can now be spotted in many an antique store around the nation.
Today, it still is a leading manufacturer of office furniture. The metro area, like much of the industrial Midwest, has seen better days. Besides furniture, it also had a robust auto manufacturing base, which has declined along with the rest of the industry. Grand Rapids economy is now more diversified with health services an important employer. Still, many people are out of work; the metro area’s 12.8% unemployment rate is more than three percentage points higher than the national average.
The people who are employed make decent wages, over $62,000 for the median household, more than enough to afford a nice house. There are many hundreds of homes for sale in the metro area for less than $90,000.
To see the complete article: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1005/gallery.The_most_affordable_housing_markets/5.html
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