Realtor.com Assigns Housing Affordability and Construction Grades to All 50 States

Com released its annual housing report card on Monday, assigning letter grades from A to F to all 50 states and Washington, DC, based on housing affordability and new-home construction. Indiana received the highest grade of A and ranked first. The state's median listing price stands at $346,000 while its median household income is $77,000 and its population is 6,973,333.

Iowa placed second with an A grade. South Carolina ranked third, also earning an A. Texas came in fourth with an A- grade. North Carolina ranked fifth with a B+ grade.

Nebraska placed sixth with a B+ grade. Delaware ranked seventh with a B grade.

South Dakota placed eighth with a B grade. Arkansas ranked ninth with a B grade.

Oklahoma tied for tenth with a B grade. New Hampshire received the lowest grade among the ten worst states, a D+, and ranked tenth from the bottom.

Montana placed eighth from the bottom with a D grade.

Connecticut also appeared among the ten worst states. com, said homebuilding is an important indicator of a housing ecosystem because it signals how affordable homes will be over time.

"Without new homes being built, affordability will suffer under constrained home supply," he said. The best-performing states earning A or B grades were concentrated mostly in the Midwest and South. States receiving grades between C and F were largely concentrated in the West and New England.

Berner said building in these states is often slower and more expensive because of zoning rules, permitting delays, and building codes.