Toledo is a bargain.
That’s the conclusion reached by Jaclyn DeJohn, managing editor of economic analysis for SmartAsset, a New York-based firm that connects consumers to financial advisers. Her report on the U.S. housing market names Toledo as having the most affordable housing market among the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the country.
The report, entitled “Homes Sell for Over $1 Million in the Most Expensive Housing Markets — 2024 Study,” was published last week on the SmartAsset website, which is viewed by more than 75 million people each month.
The report documents the current median sale price of a U.S. home as being just under $421,000 and notes that the average home in some areas sells for more than double that figure. It suggests that sky-high housing costs may prompt some homebuyers to move to less expensive areas.
Toledo’s average home sale price of $157,176 makes it the metropolitan area with the lowest residential real estate costs. This figure, however, represents an average price increase of 16.4 percent from one year ago and an increase over five years of 33.2 percent.
Although being the U.S. city where houses cost the least may sound like good news, Rosalyn Clemens, the director of the Toledo Department of Housing and Community Development, suggests that it’s only part of the story.
“If you’re comparing Toledo across markets, yes, the survey is correct,” she said. “Toledo does have one of the most affordable housing markets. If someone compares what a house here costs compared to one on the East Coast, for example, it’s very affordable. That’s the good news. But if you’re looking at the cost burden, that’s a different issue. Because of income and poverty levels in Toledo, many of our residents are cost burdened by paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing. Affordable housing, from the perspective of cost burden, means spending no more than 30 percent of your income on housing. That’s the gold standard. The more people who can do that, the better.”
Toledo residents are not the only ones who are burdened by their housing costs. A 2024 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University found that almost a third of American households are cost burdened by rental or mortgage charges that exceed 30 percent of their income.
The Harvard report also found that cost burdens disproportionately fall on lower-income homeowners: “Cost burdens for homeowners earning less than $30,000 have risen since 2019 by 4.2 percentage points to fully 72 percent in 2022. In comparison, cost burden rates for homeowners earning $30,000-$44,999 and $45,000-$74,999 rose a modest 2.0 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively, while cost burdens increased just 0.3 percentage points for higher-income homeowners.”
While Toledo’s home prices are the lowest among the country’s most populous metropolitan areas, the flip side is that Toledoans have a low average annual per capita income — a factor that contributes to being cost burdened. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, per capita income in the Toledo metropolitan area averages $54,483. This figure is the 208th highest of the 384 metropolitan areas surveyed.
The question then becomes, if housing in Toledo is “affordable,” who is able to afford it?
Tony Bassett, a real estate agent with Danberry who’s been in the business for 23 years and served as the president of the Northwest Ohio Realtors in 2022, “absolutely” agrees that Toledo has an affordable housing market.
“I’m looking at people who come in to work at Dana or ProMedica from Houston or Chicago. I show them homes in Ottawa Hills and other parts of the Toledo metropolitan area. When I tell them the asking price, they’re stunned. They ask, ‘What’s wrong with this house?’ I say that’s where our market is. For everything the Toledo area has to offer, it’s one hell of a bargain.”
Mr. Bassett thinks that it’s not necessarily true that native Toledoans are being priced out of the housing market.
“Take DeVeaux Village, where I grew up,” he said. “There are some 1,500 square foot houses there. Back in the 90s, that was a good easy buy for a first-time homebuyer. They were selling for $125,000 to $150,000. Then everything tanked in 2008. The market has come back since then. Those homes now are selling for $180,000 to $200,000 or less if they need work.”
Mr. Bassett also pointed out that there are properties outside the city limits that can be had for as little as $120,000. “But a lot of buyers price themselves out of the market because they are too finite in their ideas of where they want to live,” he said. “With housing inventory so low here, I tell them they are looking for a unicorn. Some people may want to live where they grew up or where their parents live, but you’re limited right off the bat if you aren’t considering other areas. You can get anywhere in Toledo in 20 minutes.”
Longtime Danberry real estate agent Judy Stone is delighted that more potential buyers are finally looking at the Toledo area.
“Our winters have been mild. We have a great source of water. Our weather is good, with no wildfires or hurricanes. And real estate prices are low. I recently had some people from Israel looking at houses in Toledo. Do you know what an apartment costs in Tel Aviv? If you can live and work anywhere, why buy one of those when you can come here for a fraction of the price?”
In order to make homes more truly affordable for Toledo residents, the city offers down payment assistance called Home at Last to those who want to purchase their first home and meet certain criteria. The amount available depends on the number of people in the household and the household’s annual income.
Most Popular
Comments / 0