Missouri’s Most Affordable Housing Market is WHAT?!

There is no way this can be true. Yes, I've seen the numbers and they probably were put together with some real estate science, but the conclusion still seems beyond belief to me. When you hear what is allegedly Missouri's most affordable housing market, I would not blame you if your first question is "WHAT?!".

I will admit that I'm not an expert at many things. Real estate, math and money are definitely not my strong suits. I trust that whoever put together this new ranking at 24/7 Wall St is much smarter than me. (Editor's Note: that bar is not very high)

You might want to sit down for this. According to their numbers, the most affordable housing market in Missouri is...(*drum roll*)...Saint Louis. I say "What" with a capital W.

Here are some of the numbers that they shared proving their point:

Percentage of annualized wage needed to buy a median priced home: 15.00%
Median home sales price, Q1 2024: $162,000
Annualized weekly wages: $75,400
Annual income needed to buy (20% down, 28% expenses): $40,519

There's a key word in this conclusion. It's not just Saint Louis, but Saint Louis CITY. ALL CAPS because it's important. Saint Louis area most affordable? Don't make me laugh. Saint Louis City most affordable? Considering the crime rate in that part of the big city, that's believable.

Affordability is a relative word. What's affordable for one person may not be for the next. But (allegedly), the most affordable market in Missouri is Saint Louis City. If you move there, may I recommend you invest in some Kevlar.