Eastern Iowa Has Two of the Best Places To Save For First Home
After what we've seen the last two years in particular, the dream of homeownership may seem more out of reach than ever for many. Prices at the store seem to be going nowhere but up (for the things that are actually there), and the cost to fill up your car is outrageous
But if you're looking to save for that very first home, a new survey is out that puts three metro areas in Iowa among the best places to do it.
This survey was done by RentCafe, which ranked the Top 20 metro areas. It's a nationwide survey, which makes it so awesome that Iowa actually has 3 cities in the Top 20. According to RentCafe:
there are 64 metro areas where an average two-person family can save for a 20% down payment on a starter home in less than 10 years. All in all, these areas make up 36% of the 174 metros analyzed.
Their data came from the "U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Policy Institute, BLS, and Zillow" and was used to calculate the "number of years it would take a two-person family to save for the down payment on a starter home."
It came to the conclusion that in the Top 20 metro areas analyzed, it would take three years or less to get into your very first home. The table below shows where the three cities in Iowa ranked starting with Cedar Rapids at #3. To be able to make a 20 percent down payment on your "starter" home at an average price of $117,181, it would take 1 year and 9 months to save.
For Des Moines, which came in 10th, the average "starter home price" is $154,720 (2 years, 7 months). Finally, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro came in at #15 ($91,403; 2 years, 10 months).
Any good bit of economic news is welcome, given our state of affairs these past few years, but I have a feeling there may be some disagreement with these results. What's your take?