Red vs Blue vs Swing States: Which Has Better Housing Affordability?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
An analysis by Realtor.com (Center bias) showed homes were more affordable in Republican-voting states than Democratic-voting ones, with swing states somewhere in the middle.
Key Quote: Realtor.com senior economic data analyst Hannah Jones said, “Swing states tend to be more affordable than the U.S. average, though less affordable than Republican states, on average. This dynamic remained intact as affordability worsened across all states and the U.S. between 2021 and today.”
For Context: Housing affordability has become a key political issue in the 2024 elections. In its analysis, Realtor.com defined “housing affordability” with an “affordability score”: an index that “reflects the share of home listings in a market that are affordable to those at various local income levels” and “reflects only home prices, and not rents.”
How the Media Covered It: The New York Post (Lean Right bias) reposted most of Realtor.com's article, but omitted several quotes from non-political experts. Furthermore, its headline stated that “a home’s affordability may depend on the political leanings of your state” — appearing to presume a causal relationship despite Realtor.com making no such claim. Instead, Realtor.com quoted some experts who cited population density and geography as potential factors. On the other hand, USA TODAY (Lean Left bias) highlighted separate data from Rent.com to discuss rental prices, which could signal a focus on the interests of people in urban areas, and Newsweek (Center bias) highlighted Idaho and Montana's low Realtor.com affordability scores.
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