You may have seen recent media reports that highlighted a study naming Cleveland as the second-most affordable of the world’s 95 largest housing markets. You may also have found this confusing.
Many local elected officials — myself included — have been calling for and working on solutions to Cleveland’s affordable housing crisis. So, how can Cleveland be both affordable and in the middle of an affordable housing crisis? It all comes down to semantics.
The study cited isn’t about affordable housing; it calculates how expensive or inexpensive a particular housing market is by comparing an area’s median house price to its median income. For example, in Los Angeles, housing prices are more than 11 times the median income, making it a costly place to live. However, it’s much cheaper to live in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, where housing prices are a little more than three times the median income. The study validates a significant selling point for our region: If you want your dollar to go further, move to Cleveland…