Key Points to Note
- Improving Housing Affordability: Cities like San Jose, Seattle, and Oxnard, CA are experiencing improvements in housing affordability.
- Cost Reductions: Coastal metros and some Sun Belt markets are witnessing a decrease in housing costs.
- Nationwide Trend: Affordability has been on the rise since 2025 due to increasing wages and more balanced supply and demand.
Housing costs have been high post-pandemic, with the median sale price reaching $407,730 and monthly payments exceeding $2,600. Buyers are spending 37% of their income on a median-priced home.
Surprisingly, housing affordability has improved since 2025, driven by income growth outpacing housing costs. This was highlighted in a recent report by Redfin.
Let’s explore the cities where housing affordability is on the rise, the factors contributing to this improvement, and what buyers can expect in the future.
Top 10 U.S. Cities with Improving Affordability
Cities like San Jose, Seattle, and Oxnard, CA are leading the way with significant drops in the income needed to buy a home.
Despite improvements, these cities remain expensive, with the affordability index often exceeding 40%. On the other hand, cities like Little Rock, AR, Oklahoma City, OK, and Baton Rouge, LA offer more affordability, but prices are rising.
| City | YoY Change in Affordability | Affordability Index | Median Sale Price |
| San Jose, CA | -7.4 ppts | 65.9% | $1,615,164 |
The trend of improving affordability is prominent in coastal and Sun Belt cities due to a shift in market dynamics. Factors like supply-demand balance and price adjustments are influencing these changes.
>> Read: The Most Affordable Cities in the U.S. in 2026