The portion of American families living in middle-income neighborhoods has declined significantly since 1970, according to a new study, as rising income inequality left a growing share of families in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.
Decline of heterogeneity. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
An excellent interactive map of New York City with income levels for various neighborhoods in reference to affordable housing. Don’t even click on the Upper East Side. [Source: Envisioning Development: What is Affordable Housing?]
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index released last week determines the percentage of residents who can afford a median priced home in a given area. Predictably, homes in the Midwest with the rising foreclosures and falling housing prices have the most affordable housing markets and least affordable homes are concentrated on the coast, mostly West. Only 10.5% who earn the median household income of $59,800 can afford a median priced home in Los Angeles – Long Beach/ Glendale where the median home price is $412,000.
Bruce E. Breunig Jr., broker at Century 21 Alliance in Margate, admitted that “we Realtors remain part of the problem. We blame the media for fueling the downturn and try to counterbalance it with our own positive spin.”
Meanwhile realtors are divided over the accuracy of their own numbers even to the extent of admitting to blame for the downturn in the market.