Are their struggles for Green Bay first-time home buyers?

GREEN BAY – “Starter homes are the foundation of the American dream, but for today’s first-time buyers, they’re increasingly hard to find—and afford,” “The Best U.S. Cities to Find a Starter Home” — a recently-updated study by Construction Coverage — stated.

Although Green Bay was ranked as the best place to live in the country by US News in 2023, the study said that the city is still not exempt from a nationwide housing crisis.

This may come as a shock to many, especially considering that affordability is a large factor of consideration in US News’s rankings.

But Green Bay is not alone in the struggle to provide affordable housing, as Construction Coverage found that the Green Bay metro ranks 109th out of 185 small U.S. metros on the list of best cities to find a starter home, landing itself right in the middle of the pack.

This ranking considers many factors, such as the average home prices outweighing the average buyer’s income year after year.

“The monthly mortgage payment for a typical Green Bay metro starter home commands 38.9% of its median renter income,” the study said.

And while wages have steadily increased, housing prices have skyrocketed.

“Since 2000, inflation-adjusted home prices have surged by 56.5% as of 2023, while the nation’s median household income has risen just 8.5%.”

The lack of starter-sized homes is another factor to consider, as only 5% of homes being built have three bedrooms or less, which is a 19% drop over the past 40 years.

The production of four-bedroom homes has increased, on the other hand, with a rate that has grown by 32%.

This is somewhat alleviated by the homes already available in the Green Bay area, since 71.3% of houses in the Green Bay metro area are starter-sized.

For more information, visit constructioncoverage.com/research/best-cities-to-find-a-starter-home.