SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse resident Annie Tuttle rented in Onondaga County for the first few years she lived here, but in February, she decided, it was time invest in something more long-term.
"I was actually living with a friend of mine in a home, a big home, she said will you live with me, so I did that for a year, and then I just knew it was time to branch out and get my own place," said Tuttle.
Tuttle says she got a great deal on her new home, which is why when Syracuse topped the list of the most affordable housing markets in the country, according to findings by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders – she says she wasn't surprised.
"I think one of the reasons I wanted to stay in Central New York is that it has such a low cost of living. So I can own a home for probably less than I can rent an equal apartment," Tuttle said.
The study is based on area's affordability, which takes into consideration the median income, as well as the home's mortgage, insurance and taxes.
"Right now is a wonderful time to buy. If you are going to be in Syracuse, we don’t have runaway appreciation or depreciation, our appreciation to depreciation are usually 3-5 percent," said John Arquette Properties Realtor Edward Glassberg.
One of the biggest obstacles Glassberg says he sees in buyers, is a fear of what he calls “getting burned.”
"The problem people have is they're looking at it as if putting their money in the stock market. A house is a shelter, it’s a place to live. It’s a place that you call your own. It’s a place when you do something you step back and say I did it for me. Not for my landlord," Glassberg added.
Which, Tuttle says, she looks forward to, which includes new landscaping and replacing her roof.
Other larger housing markets that ranked well on the affordability included Toledo, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania and St. Louis.