Is Binghamton An Affordable City for Construction Workers?

The coronavirus pandemic has changed so many things including the housing market. With mortgage rates near historic lows and many people leaving the big cities, home sales have gone up in the past few months.

In the Binghamton area, I've seen many "For Sale" signs that had been up for over a year, say "Sold" on them now. One of my friends sold his home without having to list it. He said that has never happened before and was amazed at how fast his New York home sold.

With demand going up for new homes, that means that prices in some cities have gone up as well. One of the consequences is that the people who are building new homes can't afford the rising costs.

Who would have guessed that the construction workers would be affected like this? Even with the growing demand for construction in the past four years, their overall wage hasn't grown as fast as other occupations.

So what does that mean for our area? Here's the good news: Binghamton is among the most affordable small cities for construction workers. According to the report, a Binghamton construction worker needs to work a little over 14 hours per week to afford their home.

The national average for construction workers is over 30 hours if they want to buy a new home. You can go here to see the list of most affordable (and unaffordable) houses in the United States. We try to find the good news during this pandemic and here is one that makes us truly New York proud.