Home Affordability across the Nation

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According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2015 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers the average homebuyer is 44 years old and has a median household income of $86,100; the survey also revealed that debt, increased rents and difficulty obtaining mortgages are prominent factors burdening potential homebuyers. HSH.com recently compiled a list of the salary you must earn to buy a home in 27 metros across the country. The list is built on NAR 2015 third-quarter data for median-home prices and third-quarter average interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages offered by HSH.com. This useful data shows the costs associated with owning a home, including the principal, interest, tax and insurance.

Nationally, based on a 20 percent down payment, a homebuyer buying a median priced home costing $229,000 will have to earn $54,421 annually. With 10 percent down, you can lower the amount required up front but it will increase the loan amount and the monthly mortgage insurance, thus raising the required salary to $60,390.

Some of the metros listed include:

Pittsburgh

  • 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate: 3.96%
  • Median Home Price: $143,000
  • Monthly Payment: $787.01
  • Required Salary: $33,729.07

Miami

  • 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate: 4.14%
  • Median Home Price: $290,000
  • Monthly Payment: $1,495.95
  • Required Salary: $64,112.23

New York City

  • 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate: 4.06%
  • Median Home Price: $410,500
  • Monthly Payment: $2,134.94
  • Required Salary: $91,497.39

Los Angeles

  • 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate: 4.06%
  • Median Home Price: $506,800
  • Monthly Payment: $2,322.31
  • Required Salary: $99,527.51

San Francisco

  • 30-year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rate: 3.98%
  • Median Home Price: $809,400
  • Monthly Payment: $3,573.55
  • Required Salary: $153,152.08

The NAR reports that the national average cost for existing single-family homes is $229,000, five percent higher than $217,100 in the third quarter of 2014. The report confirms that existing home sales increased by 3.4 percent to an adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million. This is a jump from 5.3 million in the second quarter of 2015 and 5.06 million form the third quarter of 2014.

According to the report, the nation’s most expensive homes are in San Jose, CA where median prices for a single-family home peak at $965,000. San Francisco, CA with $809,400, Anaheim-Santa Ana with $715,300, Honolulu with $714,000 and San Diego with $554,400 follow closely behind.

Can you afford to live in these American metros?

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