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Highly Affordable Places to Live: Winston-Salem

Housing in Forsyth County continues to be highly affordable!

There’s a reason so many homebuyers are flocking to cities like Winston-Salem and High Point. In addition to the high qualities of life they provide, they’re also very affordable. Typically, real estate agents and financial planners recommend spending no more than 1/3 of your monthly income on rent.

If you live in Forsyth County though, it’s likely that you’ll be spending far less than that!

Forsyth County Market Trends

single story homeDetermined in a recent report by Attom Data Solutions, a company that tracks real estate trends throughout the country, Forsyth County maintains an affordable cost of living.

Attom measures this based on how much homeowners spend per month for a mortgage payment, compared with their monthly earnings. In Forsyth County, the average homeowners typically spends about 20% of their monthly household wages on mortgage payments.

This percentage is down from 21.6% a year ago.

Affordable Cost of Living

This means that Winston-Salem, and other Forsyth County cities, have affordable costs of living. Cost of living is determined by the amount of money you need to maintain a specific level of living, including basic expenses like housing, food, taxes, and healthcare.

According to Sperlings Best Places, the average cost of living in the U.S. has a score of about 100. They assign different cities and towns scores based on how expensive it is to obtain basic components of life like food, housing, and healthcare. Winston-Salem, for example, has a score of about 84, making it less expensive than the U.S. average.

See How Other NC Counties Compare…

housing pricesSimilar counties in North Carolina have far more expensive housing, on average. As we mentioned before, the average homeowner in Forsyth County spends about 20.6% of their monthly income on mortgage payments.

In Guilford county, a typical homeowner spends about 23.8%. In Wake County, both the cost of living and median home prices are much higher. So, a typical Wake County homeowner spends about 34.1% of their monthly income on mortgage payments.

According to Attom, Forsyth County is the only major urban county in North Carolina where wage growth is surpassing price growth for living.

Interested in Moving to Forsyth County?

If you’ve been looking for an affordable place to call home, that still maintains plenty of charm with a high quality of life, Winston-Salem is a phenomenal choice. Other nearby cities, such as High Point, Kernersville, and Clemmons, offer similar qualities of life.

If you’re interested in buying a home in Forsyth County, please reach out to us here at Forsyth Realty. We know this area like the back of our hands, and we would love to assist you in finding the home of your dreams.

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