Bloomberg Surveillance · Friday, August 14, 2026
Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an anomaly in the current housing market, offering affordable homeownership opportunities for young people, a stark contrast to the national trend where first-time homeownership is out of reach for many. The favorable ratio of home prices to income, combined with a diversified economy and growing population, allows nearly half of homeowners in Kent County to be 35 or younger. However, affordability is eroding, with prices up a third in five years and inventory still below pre-pandemic levels.
“I think what's really unique about Kent County, Michigan, is that there's a relatively favorable ratio between home prices and income. So nearly half of its homeowners in twenty twenty five, where thirty five years or younger. And that's pretty amazing if you consider that the average first time home buyer today is forty years old across the US, and that's the old and data going back to nineteen eighty one.”
“So it helps that Grand Rapids, you know, has a really diversified economy. Its population has been growing, and there's a lot of opportunities for young workers who are earning enough to buy a home. You know, while across the US, I would say, you know, workers under thirty five, that price of a home is three point six times their income, but it's much in Grand Rapids, it's too much lower than that.”
“Yeah, there's definitely a lot of pressure on the market. We've seen prices go up about thirty four percent in five years, as you mentioned, and inventory is still roughly thirty percent below pre pandemic levels, and this is an issue we're dealing with across the US housing supply shortage.”