By HOLDEN LEWIS
NerdWallet

Big coastal cities have some of the highest house prices in the country. In comparison, medium-size cities are often relative bargains. But not always.

Each quarter, NerdWallet calculates home affordability for 172 metropolitan areas for which the National Association of Realtors publishes home prices. NerdWallet narrowed its focus this quarter to 87 medium-size metros with populations between 250,000 and 1 million. They range from Yakima, Washington (population 250,193), to Tulsa, Oklahoma (990,706).

Affordability for buying a home was estimated by comparing each metro area’s median household income with the monthly principal-and-interest payment for a median-priced single-family home in the third quarter. After a 20 percent down payment, house payments were calculated at 4.74 percent, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the third quarter in NerdWallet’s daily mortgage rates survey. Payments exclude insurance and property taxes.

Rankings were compiled using data from the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. Census Bureau and NerdWallet surveys. Even medium-size cities can boast a touch of Hollywood, so we’ve mentioned movies and TV shows that were filmed or set in each of these.

MOST AFFORDABLE MEDIUM-SIZE METRO AREAS IN 3Q

1. YOUNGSTOWN-WARREN-BOARDMAN, OHIO-PENNSYLVANIA
Median home price: $97,600 (national median price: $266,900)
Median household income: $45,382
Principal and interest payment: $407 (10.8 percent of median monthly income)
Population: 541,926
Low house prices make Youngstown affordable, although typical household income is well below the national median of $60,336. Youngstown was the filming location for portions of the 1978 movie “The Deer Hunter.”

2. PEORIA, ILLINOIS
Median home price: $131,300
Median household income: $57,453
Principal and interest payment: $547 (11.4 percent of monthly income)
Population: 372,427
Peoria had the highest median household income among the five most affordable metros on this list. Parts of the 1986 Richard Pryor movie “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling” were filmed here.

3. ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS
Median home price: $131,600
Median household income: $55,484
Principal and interest payment: $549 (11.9 percent of monthly income)
Population: 338,291
This city was home to the Rockford Peaches, a women’s professional baseball team in the 1940s and 1950s that was fictionalized in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”

4. ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
Median home price: $123,200
Median household income: $50,614
Principal and interest payment: $514 (12.2 percent of monthly income)
Population: 274,541
Erie lies on the shore of Lake Erie. Portions of 2009’s “The Road” were filmed in Presque Isle State Park, offshore from downtown.

5. DAVENPORT-MOLINE-ROCK ISLAND, IOWA-ILLINOIS
Median home price: $133,900
Median household income: $54,173
Principal and interest payment: $558 (12.4 percent of monthly income)
Population: 382,263
This metro area, called the Quad Cities, straddles the Mississippi River. The 1991 biopic “Bix,” about Davenport native and jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, was filmed partly here.

LEAST AFFORDABLE MEDIUM-SIZE METRO AREAS IN 3Q

1. HONOLULU, HAWAII
Median home price: $818,600
Median household income: $81,284
Principal and interest payment: $3,412 (50.4 percent of monthly income)
Population: 988,650
Honolulu’s high household incomes are matched by high house prices. Parts of the 2004-2010 TV series “Lost” were made in Honolulu.

2. BOULDER, COLORADO
Median home price: $604,200
Median household income: $80,834
Principal and interest payment: $2,519 (37.4 percent of monthly income)
Population: 322,514
Boulder is home to the University of Colorado. In the 1980 horror classic “The Shining,” the exterior of the Torrance family’s apartment was filmed in Boulder.

3. NAPLES-IMMOKALEE-MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA
Median home price: $425,000
Median household income: $66,048
Principal and interest payment: $1,772 (32.2 percent of monthly income)
Population: 372,880
This area is known for its fishing. Part of the 1997 comedy “Gone Fishin'” starring Danny Glover and Joe Pesci was filmed on Marco Island.

4. RENO, NEVADA
Median home price: $385,800
Median household income: $61,360
Principal and interest payment: $1,608 (31.5 percent of monthly income)
Population: 464,593
Reno calls itself “The Biggest Little City in the World” and has big-city housing prices, dealing it a bad hand for affordability. Some of “Sister Act,” the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy, was filmed in Reno.

5. EUGENE, OREGON
Median home price: $302,700
Median household income: $50,654
Principal and interest payment: $1,262 (29.9 percent of monthly income)
Population: 374,748
Eugene is home to the University of Oregon, where much of the 1978 comedy “Animal House” was filmed.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Holden Lewis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: hlewis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @HoldenL.

The post Eugene ranks fifth on least affordable homes list appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Real estate sales cooled, but prices continued to rise in 2017 in Portland’s residential market as eager buyers snapped up available homes, according to newly released year-end data.

The historically low inventories of recent years eased in 2017. Portland was one of only four large markets in the U.S. that added to its homes inventory last year, according to Realtor.com data published by The New York Times.

“I would characterize it as one of the strongest markets we’ve had in years in terms of growth and price appreciation,” said Edward Petrossian, president of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors and a broker for RE/MAX Equity Group.

Closed sales fell 3.6 percent year over year, according to RMLS, a real estate listing service. Sales slipped precipitously in December, down 10.3 percent compared to December 2016.

Home prices continued to appreciate in 2017, according RMLS’ year-end data. The median home price rose 9 percent to $379,900, up from $347,000 in 2016.

New listings jumped in December, with 1,617. It was the strongest December showing for new listings since 2011.

Portland ended the year with 1.6 months of inventory, still far below what industry experts consider a balanced market. Homes had little trouble selling in 2017: They spent an average of 50 days on the market, down from 62 days in 2016.

The RMLS data cover the Portland-metro area, including Tigard, Hillsboro, Gresham, Troutdale, Beaverton and other suburbs.

New construction is making an impact, with homes coming online in areas such as Cornelius, West Linn, Oregon City and Gresham, Petrossian said.

“New construction is coming on very strong, and I expect to see more this year,” he said.

That’s in line with national trends, said George Ratiu, managing director of housing and commercial research for the National Association of Realtors.

“Our expectation is that inventory, nationally speaking, will increase in 2018, in part because we expect builders to ramp up production of new homes,” Ratiu said. “How much remains to be seen because consumers have obviously been driving the demand side.”

Higher inventory levels in Portland are reflected by slowing population growth, Ratiu said. Although still healthy, population growth in the Portland area slipped to 1.5 percent in 2016, according to the Census Bureau. Data for 2017 weren’t yet available, but a state economic forecast pegged population growth last year at 1.8 percent.

“Population growth in the Portland-metro area – which had been very, very strong in the early 2000s – has been slowing down,” Ratiu said.

Meanwhile, home construction has been increasing. Building permits for single-family homes and condos were on track to reach nearly 17,000 by the end of 2017 in the Portland metropolitan statistical area. That compares to an average of 13,200 from 2013 to 2016.

“You are returning back to prerecession levels,” Ratiu said. “It’s good news. It means the supply is increasing.”

The post Residential sales slip, prices grow in Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.