Grand Rapids Ranked 5th Most Affordable City in U.S. to Buy a Home

Grand Rapids #5 Best Place to Buy a Home

I was perusing cnn.com’s money section today as I often do and I ran across an article that ranked the most affordable cities to buy a home in across the United States.  Being one that likes to follow real estate  as a hobby I investigated further.  Wouldn’t you know there was Grand Rapids Michigan smack dab in the middle at #5.  With a median home price of $100,000 and a median income of $60,300, Grand Rapids had an ‘affordability score’ of 91.2%  Complied on top of our city recently being also ranked as the #2 best places to live and the #1 city to raise a family I think it is safe to say that all that call Grand Rapids ‘home’ are lucky to do so.  Here is what else cnn.com had to say about our housing affordability….

As in many once-booming Midwestern cities, Grand Rapids was built up during an era of prosperity and high population growth. Now it’s left with a large inventory of fine, old houses that are weighing on home prices.

Grand Rapids Michigan Condo For Sale

In addition, several local non-profits are working to save area neighborhoods by renovating older homes and renting them out or reselling them, said Kara Wood, the city’s director of economic development.

With population growth slowing over the past few decades — the metro-area population grew at about half the national rate over the past 10 years — there’s more than enough homes to meet buyer demand.

Meanwhile, the city’s economic base, which once relied heavily on the furniture-making industry, has become more diversified. Health care is now a driving force in the local economy, said Wood.

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And there are plenty of good-paying jobs. Spectrum Health, which runs several hospitals in the area, employs more than 16,000 local residents, plus 1,500 physicians.

Cities that ranked higher were Indianapolis (IN), Dayton (OH), Lakeland (FL), and Medesto (CA).  Lets be honest, who would want to live in any one of those cities above Grand Rapids?  Not this guy.

- Drew Nelson

Portions of article courtesy of: money.cnn.com