FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) — Where Americans live can make an enormous difference in what they pay for housing, and a new report ranks the country’s largest metropolitan areas from the most affordable markets to the least.

The Realtor.com report graded the nation’s 100 largest metro areas based on housing affordability and the pace of new home construction, taking into account both current conditions and the potential trajectory of each market.

Des Moines, Iowa, came out on top with an A-plus grade. Raleigh, North Carolina, ranked second, followed by Columbia, South Carolina; Houston, Texas; and Indianapolis, Indiana.

At the other end of the rankings, Los Angeles received an F and ranked last. Providence, Rhode Island, New York City, Honolulu and Boston rounded out the five lowest-ranked metros.

Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said the report was intended to provide a broader view than simply comparing today’s home prices.

“It’s really a balanced look at the present and the future for how things are affordable now and how they might be affordable in years to come,” Berner told FOX Business.

The highest-rated markets were concentrated largely across the Midwest and Sun Belt, while several expensive coastal markets landed near the bottom.

The rankings come as the U.S. housing market continues to face a shortage of more than four million homes, according to Realtor.com. Years of construction that failed to keep pace with demand have contributed to a limited supply of homes, while higher mortgage rates have made purchases more difficult for many buyers.

Berner said builders are facing pressure from both sides of the market.

“Builders are getting squeezed on both sides,” Berner said. “Their costs are going up, whether it’s materials, labor or the cost of regulation.”

At the same time, he said, elevated mortgage rates and lower affordability have reduced buyer activity, making it more difficult for builders to respond to the housing shortage.

The report found that the markets performing better on affordability tend to share several characteristics. Berner said local governments in those areas often make it easier for developers to add housing through less restrictive zoning and faster permitting.

“They have local government facilitating new projects, not getting in the way, not having really restrictive zoning laws, having quick permitting processes,” Berner said.

Those markets also tend to have growing economies and expanding populations, creating additional demand for housing. The difference, Berner said, is whether local communities allow builders to respond to that demand by constructing enough new homes.

“And these are places with strong job markets that are growing really fast, and the cities are allowing builders to absorb that increasing demand for homes in these growing cities by building a lot of them,” he said.

Available land also plays a role.

Berner said many Midwestern and Sun Belt markets have more land available for development than densely populated coastal markets. That gives builders greater flexibility to construct both suburban developments and higher-density housing.

“Those places really have some advantages that the coastal cities don’t,” Berner said. “Land is much more available.”

He also pointed to efforts in some markets to encourage developers to build denser housing within urban areas, alongside traditional suburban construction.

The contrast between the top and bottom of the rankings highlights the different pressures facing housing markets around the country. Markets with strong job growth can generate significant demand for homes, but affordability can deteriorate when construction fails to keep pace. Markets with fewer development constraints can have more opportunity to add supply as demand increases.

For communities looking to improve housing affordability, Berner said local zoning policies are one place to begin.

“I think the first thing they should do is look at their local zoning ordinances,” he said.

The Realtor.com rankings ultimately underscore the wide gap in housing conditions across major U.S. metropolitan areas, with Midwestern and Sun Belt markets generally scoring better in the combined affordability and construction assessment and several major coastal markets facing greater affordability challenges.