In 2000, the growth rate differences between home prices and household income were 17%, 13% and 23% for Charlotte, Columbia and Oklahoma City, respectively. By 2017, however, the same growth rate differences increased to 66%, 56%, and 82%, but household income couldn’t keep up, causing these metro areas to be less affordable relative to prior years, the report said.
Still, in 2017 the South's price-to-income ratios were not much higher than the healthy housing market average of 2.6. They were 3.2, 3.0, 2.9 and 2.8 for Charlotte, Birmingham, Columbia, and Oklahoma City, respectively.