SEATTLE, Nov. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Active-duty
military and veteran households are, on average, better able to
afford housing than a typical U.S. household, according to a new
Zillow® analysis.
Nationally, it would take 29.6% of the typical household income
to pay the median rent – just below the 30% rule of thumb for
affordable housing. Active-duty military households would spend
24.9% of their income on that median rent, while a typical
household with one or more veterans would spend 20.1%.
The results are similar for homeowners. The typical household in
the U.S. would spend 16% of its income on a mortgage payment for
the median home, while active-duty military households would spend
13.4% and veterans would spend 10.9%i.
Improving the picture further are Veterans Affairs (VA) loans,
which are available to military members and their families. VA
loans typically offer lower rates, have more lenient credit
requirements and do not require private mortgage insurance. About
77% of active-duty homeowners and 58% of veteran homeowners use VA
loansii, which take the share of income spent on
mortgage payments down to 12.6% for active-duty households and
10.2% for veterans.
"At a time when housing affordability is a real issue for so
many, including public servants like teachers and fire fighters,
the outlook is encouraging in much of the country for current and
former service members and their families," said Zillow Group
Economist Joshua Clark. "Taking
advantage of benefits like VA loans can really pay off as well. At
current rates, a home buyer would save about $20,000 over the life of a loan on a typical home
– and that's before factoring in other benefits of VA loans such as
not always requiring a down payment and limits on closing
costs."
There are only a few large metro areas where active-duty
households have more difficulty affording housing than the
population at large. Active-duty households in Seattle, San
Diego and Portland
typically spend a greater share of their income on mortgage and
rent payments than the rest of the metro.
Military households in Florida
enjoy the greatest relative affordability compared to their
non-military neighbors. The gap in share of income spent on rent
between active-duty households and the rest of the population is
larger in Miami (15 percentage
points), Orlando (11.7) and
Tampa (11.3) than any other large
U.S. metros.
Veteran homeowners and renters are typically better able to
afford housing than non-veterans in each of the 35 largest metro
areas in the U.S. Veterans in San
Diego have one of the biggest advantages over non-veterans
in both rent and mortgage affordability, despite active-duty
households in San Diego being
worse off than non-military households. This suggests that veterans
are often able to transition into higher-paying jobs there once
they have completed their military service.
Despite the relative advantage over the general population, the
typical rent is still unaffordable for active-duty households in
six of the 35 largest metros in the U.S., using the 30% standard.
Mortgages are only unaffordable for active-duty military and
veteran households in San Jose,
the most expensive housing market in the country.
Rent Affordability
for Military Households
|
Metropolitan
Area
|
Median
Rent
|
All Households
-
Share of Income
on Median Rent
|
Veteran
Households -
Share of Income
on Median Rent
|
Active-Duty
Households -
Share of Income
on Median Rent
|
United
States
|
$1,579
|
29.6%
|
20.1%
|
24.9%
|
New York,
NY
|
$2,271
|
33.9%
|
22.0%
|
29.5%
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Anaheim,
CA
|
$2,591
|
41.9%
|
27.0%
|
35.1%
|
Chicago,
IL
|
$1,598
|
26.5%
|
18.3%
|
23.6%
|
Dallas-Fort
Worth,
TX
|
$1,432
|
24.3%
|
16.4%
|
22.4%
|
Philadelphia,
PA
|
$1,481
|
24.5%
|
16.7%
|
22.9%
|
Houston,
TX
|
$1,373
|
24.8%
|
15.8%
|
18.5%
|
Washington,
DC
|
$1,950
|
22.4%
|
15.4%
|
20.6%
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, FL
|
$1,845
|
38.9%
|
22.3%
|
23.9%
|
Atlanta,
GA
|
$1,439
|
25.2%
|
17.8%
|
21.6%
|
Boston, MA
|
$2,369
|
31.1%
|
21.6%
|
30.0%
|
San Francisco,
CA
|
$3,150
|
34.8%
|
23.7%
|
33.9%
|
Detroit,
MI
|
$1,193
|
23.2%
|
14.7%
|
15.1%
|
Riverside,
CA
|
$1,900
|
34.6%
|
22.3%
|
32.2%
|
Phoenix,
AZ
|
$1,380
|
25.4%
|
17.2%
|
24.6%
|
Seattle,
WA
|
$2,005
|
27.7%
|
21.1%
|
35.2%
|
Minneapolis-St
Paul, MN
|
$1,482
|
22.0%
|
18.2%
|
16.3%
|
San Diego,
CA
|
$2,489
|
36.7%
|
25.8%
|
42.0%
|
St. Louis,
MO
|
$997
|
18.4%
|
11.8%
|
13.8%
|
Tampa, FL
|
$1,381
|
30.5%
|
17.7%
|
19.1%
|
Baltimore,
MD
|
$1,596
|
23.9%
|
14.1%
|
19.9%
|
Denver, CO
|
$1,764
|
26.0%
|
19.3%
|
23.2%
|
Pittsburgh,
PA
|
$1,094
|
21.1%
|
15.6%
|
13.8%
|
Portland,
OR
|
$1,636
|
25.6%
|
19.4%
|
27.9%
|
Charlotte,
NC
|
$1,308
|
24.5%
|
16.4%
|
19.3%
|
Sacramento,
CA
|
$1,769
|
29.6%
|
19.3%
|
22.9%
|
San Antonio,
TX
|
$1,207
|
24.6%
|
14.8%
|
17.2%
|
Orlando,
FL
|
$1,400
|
29.2%
|
18.3%
|
17.5%
|
Cincinnati,
OH
|
$1,132
|
20.9%
|
13.7%
|
N/A
|
Cleveland,
OH
|
$1,059
|
23.2%
|
14.5%
|
N/A
|
Kansas City,
MO
|
$1,110
|
20.0%
|
14.1%
|
15.4%
|
Las Vegas,
NV
|
$1,310
|
25.9%
|
16.3%
|
19.4%
|
Columbus,
OH
|
$1,183
|
21.0%
|
15.6%
|
13.4%
|
Indianapolis,
IN
|
$1,082
|
20.7%
|
15.0%
|
15.7%
|
San Jose,
CA
|
$3,308
|
31.6%
|
25.1%
|
N/A
|
Austin, TX
|
$1,569
|
24.4%
|
18.0%
|
21.8%
|
Mortgage
Affordability for Military Households
|
Metropolitan
Area
|
Median
Mortgage
Payment
(Standard
Loan)
|
Median
Mortgage
Payment
(VA
Loan)
|
All Households
- Share of
Income on
Median
Mortgage
(Standard
Loan)
|
Veteran
Households -
Share of
Income on
Median
Mortgage (VA
Loan)
|
Active-Duty
Households -
Share of
Income on
Median
Mortgage (VA
Loan)
|
United
States
|
$852
|
$797
|
16.0%
|
10.2%
|
12.6%
|
New York,
NY
|
$1,655
|
$1,548
|
24.7%
|
15.0%
|
20.1%
|
Los Angeles-
Long Beach-
Anaheim, CA
|
$2,434
|
$2,276
|
39.3%
|
23.7%
|
30.8%
|
Chicago,
IL
|
$845
|
$791
|
14.0%
|
9.1%
|
11.7%
|
Dallas-Fort
Worth, TX
|
$907
|
$848
|
15.4%
|
9.7%
|
13.3%
|
Philadelphia,
PA
|
$870
|
$813
|
14.4%
|
9.2%
|
12.6%
|
Houston,
TX
|
$768
|
$718
|
13.9%
|
8.2%
|
9.7%
|
Washington,
DC
|
$1,523
|
$1,425
|
17.5%
|
11.2%
|
15.0%
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, FL
|
$1,060
|
$991
|
22.4%
|
12.0%
|
12.8%
|
Atlanta,
GA
|
$822
|
$768
|
14.4%
|
9.5%
|
11.5%
|
Boston, MA
|
$1,732
|
$1,620
|
22.8%
|
14.8%
|
20.5%
|
San Francisco,
CA
|
$3,508
|
$3,281
|
38.7%
|
24.7%
|
35.3%
|
Detroit,
MI
|
$608
|
$568
|
11.8%
|
7.0%
|
7.2%
|
Riverside,
CA
|
$1,385
|
$1,295
|
25.2%
|
15.2%
|
21.9%
|
Phoenix,
AZ
|
$997
|
$933
|
18.3%
|
11.6%
|
16.6%
|
Seattle,
WA
|
$1,834
|
$1,715
|
25.3%
|
18.1%
|
30.1%
|
Minneapolis-St
Paul, MN
|
$1,016
|
$950
|
15.1%
|
11.7%
|
10.5%
|
San Diego,
CA
|
$2,211
|
$2,067
|
32.6%
|
21.4%
|
34.9%
|
St. Louis,
MO
|
$624
|
$584
|
11.5%
|
6.9%
|
8.1%
|
Tampa, FL
|
$803
|
$751
|
17.7%
|
9.6%
|
10.4%
|
Baltimore,
MD
|
$999
|
$935
|
15.0%
|
8.2%
|
11.7%
|
Denver, CO
|
$1,529
|
$1,430
|
22.6%
|
15.6%
|
18.8%
|
Pittsburgh,
PA
|
$538
|
$503
|
10.4%
|
7.2%
|
6.4%
|
Portland,
OR
|
$1,481
|
$1,385
|
23.2%
|
16.4%
|
23.6%
|
Charlotte,
NC
|
$785
|
$735
|
14.7%
|
9.2%
|
10.8%
|
Sacramento,
CA
|
$1,539
|
$1,439
|
25.8%
|
15.7%
|
18.6%
|
San Antonio,
TX
|
$728
|
$680
|
14.8%
|
8.4%
|
9.7%
|
Orlando,
FL
|
$895
|
$837
|
18.7%
|
10.9%
|
10.5%
|
Cincinnati,
OH
|
$636
|
$595
|
11.7%
|
7.2%
|
N/A
|
Cleveland,
OH
|
$547
|
$511
|
12.0%
|
7.0%
|
N/A
|
Kansas City,
MO
|
$716
|
$669
|
12.9%
|
8.5%
|
9.3%
|
Las Vegas,
NV
|
$1,045
|
$977
|
20.7%
|
12.2%
|
14.5%
|
Columbus,
OH
|
$723
|
$676
|
12.9%
|
8.9%
|
7.7%
|
Indianapolis,
IN
|
$623
|
$583
|
11.9%
|
8.1%
|
8.4%
|
San Jose,
CA
|
$4,313
|
$4,033
|
41.2%
|
30.6%
|
N/A
|
Austin, TX
|
$1,165
|
$1,090
|
18.1%
|
12.5%
|
15.2%
|
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i Mortgage affordability calculations assume a 20%
down payment and do not include other costs of owning a home such
as property taxes, homeowner's insurance and common homeowner
maintenance
ii National Association of Realtors' Veterans and Active
Military Home Buyers and Sellers Profile
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/housing-affordability-outlook-is-encouraging-for-military-households-300952510.html
SOURCE Zillow, Inc.