A SOLD sign outside a home in Windmoor, Pennsylvania on June 22, 2022.Two recent studies suggest that potential homeowners in most of the United States need an annual income of $100,000 or more to afford a typical home.
Matt Rourke AP
I've heard that buying a house can be a difficult time, but exactly how difficult is it?
Two recent studies predict that in most of the United States today, you would need to earn more than $100,000 a year to comfortably afford a typical home.
This is a significant increase from just four years ago and comes at a time when there are fewer homes on the market and mortgage rates and home prices are soaring. House hunters' wages, on the other hand, are not increasing at the same pace.
“Housing costs have soared over the past four years as significant increases in home prices, mortgage rates, and rents have far outpaced wage increases,” Orfe Divongi, senior economist at Zillow, said in a statement.
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6 digit threshold
A Zillow analysis released in February found that prospective homeowners need to earn more than $106,000 a year to buy a typical home in the United States.
That's an 80% increase from the website's estimate of the $59,000 annual income a household would need to afford a comfortable home in 2020.
In a separate study released Monday, the financial website Bankrate suggested Americans would have to scrape together $110,871 a year to buy a median-priced home, the outlet said. is said to be $402,343. Their income levels have increased by nearly 50% from 2020 estimates.
“With home prices near all-time highs, people who want a home have little choice but to pay a higher price,” said Jeff Ostrovsky, housing market analyst at Bankrate.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the national median household income is approximately $74,500.
location, location, location
Of course, these numbers are based on national data, and home prices vary depending on where you want to live.
Bankrate found that aspiring homeowners in 22 states and Washington, D.C., need to earn an income. at least It costs $100,000 a year to buy a typical home. Buyers in the South and Midwest pay less for new digs than those in the West and Northeast.
Still, 22 states require a six-figure income, an increase from only six states (plus D.C.) that required that amount to purchase a typical home in 2020. ing.
The states where the annual income required to purchase a typical home increased the most were Montana, Utah, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Arizona.
According to Zillow, in Seattle, New York City, Boston, and four major metropolitan areas in California (San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego), future households need an annual income of $200,000 or more to buy a typical home. It is said that it will be necessary.
Memphis, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Birmingham were among the most affordable cities.
However, Zillow found that there are only three major U.S. metropolitan areas where average-income homebuyers can afford a typically priced home: Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Detroit.
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