Dive Brief:
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Builders who hope to appeal to buyers with middle-of-the-road incomes might want to pack up and flee New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, and especially San Francisco.
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Mortgage research site HSH.com calculated that to buy a median-priced home in San Francisco, a buyer would have to have earn $142,448 a year. In the other four cities, an income of around $90,000 would qualify a buyer. On the lower range, Pittsburgh ($31,716), Cleveland ($32,010), St. Louis ($33,323), and Cincinnati ($33,485) are more affordable.
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Nationwide, it would take salary of $48,604 to get into a median home, assuming the buyer puts 20% down and spends 28% of gross monthly income on housing, including mortgage payment with interest, taxes, and insurance.
Dive Insight:
It’s no surprise that San Francisco ranks as the most unaffordable city for housing on this list, as it has claimed the spot on many others, as well.
And although prices are not expected to wildly spike nationwide over the year, they are on track for slow, steady growth, which means the income needed to buy a home is likely to climb by the time HSH.com puts out next year’s list.
The metros with the highest prices, of course, are the most likely to shut out young, first-time homebuyers.