Home Ownership in CT: Not Best, But Not Worst

When it comes to home ownership, Connecticut is in the middle of the pack among the nation’s 50 states.  A new report ranks the state at number 30, in the lower echelons of the states.  And when the report, by financial website ValuePenguin, identified optimal factors when considering homeownership, Connecticut faired more poorly in some key factors. Connecticut ranked 48th in affordability, followed only by California (49) and Florida (50).  New Jersey and Massachusetts were just ahead of Connecticut.  The best states for affordability were South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho.

Ten factors, organized into three key categories were used to measure and rank the states. The three key categories of focus were: Housing Market Strength, Residual Costs, and Living Factors.

Factors that weakened a state’s position included propensity for crime, weak housing markets, and heavy burdens of costs to maintain a home – for instance the likelihood of property damage caused by storms and other calamities. Attributes that strengthened a state’s position included homeownership affordability, low mortgage rates, and low risk of calamities.

The 10 worst states to be a homeowner, according to the report, are Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Alabama.  The best states, according to the analysis, are Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Maine and Minnesota.

In terms of livability, the top states in the nation are the New England states of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.