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How to Answer the Home Buyer Question: "What Can I Afford?"

By Mike Simonsen on November 9, 2020

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Mike Simonsen

Mike Simonsen is the founder and president of real estate analytics firm Altos Research, which has provided national and local real estate data to financial institutions, real estate professionals, and investors across the country for more than 15 years. An expert trendspotter, Mike uses Altos data to identify market shifts months before they hit the headlines.

Altos market data makes it easy to answer buyer and seller questions like a pro. One of the most common questions we hear is, "What can I afford?"

How to answer the age-old question

To tackle this question, we recommend looking at your Altos charts split into price ranges, using the “Market Segments” functionality, to see what’s happening in each price range.

Market Segments Example

Using this data, some responses could be:
  • “You can see we’re in the upper middle of the market in your price range. There are 4 new homes on the market this week. It’s actually the most in-demand segment in town.”
  • “It looks like, in your price range, you’d be able to afford a 3 bedroom 2 bath with about 2,400 sqft, but the inventory is very tight right now.”
  • “You may be able to get more for your money in X neighborhood. Let’s take a look at what’s available there.”

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