Minneapolis' offering of affordable starter homes and inflated supply of below-median-priced options made it the housing market with the highest low-income ownership rate, according to Redfin.
The larger half of the Twin Cities boasted a 57.7% homeownership rate in 2017 for households with bottom 25th percentile incomes for the metro area.
"Minneapolis has a large supply of condos and townhomes that are priced lower than the median for the area, which is one reason why it's affordable for people of all different means and backgrounds," said Chris Prescott, a Redfin market manager in Minneapolis. "There are still some great locations in the area where homebuyers can purchase a single-family fixer-upper at an affordable price and build equity."
Pittsburgh followed with the second-highest rate of 55.8% and St. Louis was a shade behind at 55.5%. All three housing markets also made Redfin's
"Homeownership allows people to share in the prosperity of their communities and gain wealth through home equity," Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, said in a press release. "In many expensive metros, low-income residents aren't able to access the benefits of homeownership because of a lack of affordable starter homes. But in areas like Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, low-income workers are still able to get their foot in the door on the American dream of homeownership."
Homebuilders are
Conversely, Los Angeles' 31% homeownership rate was the lowest among bottom quartile income households. New York, at 35%, was second-lowest and San Diego, at 37.6%, came next.
