Many teachers may be starting the new school year in a new home. According to Seattle-based real estate company Redfin, teachers nationwide can afford about 48% of rentals near their schools. That's up from 41% last year. Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist, is optimistic this could be a trend instead of just a blip because Seattle has been moving in the right direction when it comes to adding housing supply to the market.

The bad news is this is still significantly below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, which were closer to 58%. Redfin looked at 33 cities and found that new leases are sluggish because there are many units on the market. Teacher salaries are also up almost 4% from last year. The numbers are even better in Seattle.

In Seattle in particular, there was an 8% rise in median teacher salaries, so that also adds to teacher buying power when it comes to a rental, Fairweather said. In Portland, Oregon, teachers can afford 91% of rentals within commuting distance from their school. In Miami, it’s less than 1%.

The news isn’t so great for teachers who want to buy homes. Nationwide, teachers can only afford about 14% of homes near their schools. That number hasn’t changed since last year, but it’s down from 39% in 2019. More teachers may be able to break into the housing market if interest rates start to drop.