Analysis: Twin Cities Remains 1 Of The Most Affordable Housing Markets In US

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The 13-county Twin Cities region continues to remain near the top of affordable housing markets in the United States, according to a real estate analysis from St. Thomas.

Herb Tousley, who directs the real estate programs at the university, says "strong housing-market fundamentals and above-average wage growth thus far in 2015" is what keeps the Twin Cities on top of the lists.

"According to Forbes, household income growth in the Twin Cities in 2014 was 1.9 percent. Based on our improving local economy and low unemployment rate, we are expecting household income to grow 2 percent to 2.5 percent in 2015," Tousley said. "That means that household incomes and median home sale prices are increasing at nearly the same rate so in terms of real dollars home prices are keeping up with inflation. This is not the case in many major metro areas around the country."

The analysis was conducted by the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas' Opus College of Business.