With home prices increasing, the dream of homeownership seems a little more challenging for some of us. Of course, buying a home will be a more or less realistic depending on where you live and how much you earn. So who can afford to buy a home? Here's the salary you need in order to buy a house, in 27 different cities.


Mortgage website HSH calculated these salaries by analyzing median home prices, interest rates and mortgage principals. They explain their method:

"HSH.com calculated the income required to cover the mortgage's principal, interest, tax and insurance payment. We used standard 28 percent 'front-end' debt ratios and a 20 percent down payment subtracted from the median-home-price data to arrive at our figures. Loans with less than a 20 percent down payment will incur mortgage insurance which would in turn increase the required salary figure."


You can check out the link for their full methodology, and the screenshot below shows data for the 27 cities they analyzed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, San Francisco requires the highest salary for homeownership. With a monthly mortgage payment of $3,199.69, HSH estimates you'd need to earn $137,129.55 to buy a home there. It was the only city that required a six-figure salary.

Cleveland required the lowest salary for homeownership, at $29,788.67.

We say this a lot, but everyone's situation is different, so you may or may not find their methodology and/or results realistic. But if you're curious about the reality of homeownership in your area, this might be a helpful start. Check out their full post for more info and an interactive map.


The salary you must earn to buy a home in 27 metros | HRH.com

Photo by Mark Moz .

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