$51,000 Salary Needed To Buy Median-Priced House

FBN Real Estate, Housing, neighborhood, street

A study by mortgage information website HSH.com has shown that the average American needs a $51,000-plus annual salary to afford an average home.

It found that in many cities in the United States, the average home cost of a single-family home has continued to rise. While the East and West Coasts have much higher average home costs, even states in the middle of the United States have seen their median home cost increase over the last year.

As these averages continue to rise and wages stagnate, fewer people will be able to purchase homes. Even with the lower interest rates, it’s still difficult for some people to make a 20 percent down payment and then continue to make a high monthly mortgage payment.

Unfortunately, even an annual salary of $51,000 a year is still not enough to buy a median-priced house in the U.S today. A great credit score is also necessary in order to secure an interest rate of 4 percent or so. Then there is the fact that the buyer would need to put down a payment of at least 20 percent. Even after that, there is a good chance that most would be spending more than 30 percent of their income on the mortgage’s principal balance and its interest.

Below is a list that shows the annual salary you will need to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home in selected cities across the U.S:

Boston: $83,151
Minneapolis: $50,251
Seattle: $78,425
Portland: $65,917
San Francisco: $147,996
Los Angeles: $95,040
San Diego: $103,165
San Antonio: $46,975
Chicago: $57,983
Denver: $68,436
Houston: $52,164
Miami: $63,048
Orlando: $47,811
Atlanta: $37,551
Washington, D.C.: $78,626
Philadelphia: $51,622
Boston: $83,151
New York City: $86,770

This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com.