[quote=esmith][quote=BGinRB]
Popular fallacy. The argument goes something like this:
Low income people rent <=> The owners are upper 2/3 && median price needs to be affordable by median among owners => median price will never be affordable by median income family.[/quote]
That’s not how the argument goes. The argument is, “median household income does not have to afford a median house”. The reason: there are more households than houses. Many households can’t afford or don’t need houses.
Median household income should afford a median housING UNIT, which could be an apartment, a condo, or a detached house.
And “afford” is a vague word, generally speaking, even 50% of gross income could be “affordable”.
Ultimately, the ratio of median housing cost to median household income should give you the desirability of the place. It stands to reason that Rochester NY, with its climate and white flight problems, would be less desirable than San Diego.[/quote]
I will accept that median income should afford a median housing unit. Generally speaking, 50% of gross can be affordable on far upper end and/or if you ignore various costs associated with owning a place (which applies to numbers you provided in the past).
Rochester, NY might be less desirable and that is reflected in the income and the prices.
On the other hand, Austin, TX is not Rochester, NY. Feel free not to ignore it.
