Saving for a home is challenging, but it’s even tougher when a local market is stacked against you.
For example, assuming you make San Francisco’s median income and can pay a 10 percent down payment, just one percent of homes in San Francisco are affordable for you. That’s according to the new Home Affordability Report released by home financing company Unison, which analyzes the cost of buying a home in 22 major U.S. cities.
Though some of the results of the report are disheartening, there are some brighter spots: The majority of homes in Phoenix, for example, are actually attainable for people earning median incomes.
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The above map shows affordability at median salary with a 10 percent down payment, though most experts recommend putting down 20 percent for the best chances of closing the sale and avoiding mortgage insurance, Unison spokesperson Michael Micheletti told HuffPost. However, that gold standard can be tough to achieve: Homebuyers under 35 muster only an eight percent downpayment on average, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Unison’s number-crunching yielded data on the average home prices in each city and the annual salary needed to purchase a home with both 10 and 20 percent down payments. Contrary to what you might think, a 10 percent downpayment requires a higher salary, because it almost always comes with monthly mortgage insurance payments, Micheletti said. Here are Unison’s results, ranked from most affordable to least:
1
Kansas City, Missouri
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Median home price: $107,933 Median salary: $62,178 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $17,900 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $14,950
2
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Median home price: $133,142 Median salary: $61,892 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $22,081 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $18,442
3
San Antonio, Texas
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Median home price: $140,935 Median salary: $55,566 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $23,373 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $19,522
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4
New Orleans, Louisiana
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Median home price: $188,055 Median salary: $49,297 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $31,188 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $26,048
5
Charlotte, North Carolina
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Median home price: $193,403 Median salary: $57,933 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $32,075 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $26,789
6
Phoenix, Arizona
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Median home price: $198,679 Median salary: $56,579 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $32,950 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $27,520
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7
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Median home price: $205,177 Median salary: $53,060 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $34,028 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $28,420
8
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Median home price: $220,714 Median salary: $74,490 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $36,605 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $30,572
9
Nashville, Tennessee
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Median home price: $243,678 Median salary: $57,739 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $40,413 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $33,753
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10
Chicago, Illinois
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Median home price: $244,652 Median salary: $66,084 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $40,575 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $33,888
11
Atlanta, Georgia
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Median home price: $250,855 Median salary: $58,121 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $41,603 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $34,747
12
Boise, Idaho
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Median home price: $253,293 Median salary: $54,297 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $42,008 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $35,085
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13
Salt Lake City, Utah
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Median home price: $255,871 Median salary: $63,520 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $45,435 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $35,442
14
Miami, Florida
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Median home price: $278,405 Median salary: $52,040 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $46,172 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $38,563
15
Dallas, Texas
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Median home price: $289,750 Median salary: $61,033 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $48,054 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $40,135
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16
Denver, Colorado
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Median home price: $318,164 Median salary: $69,754 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $52,766 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $44,071
17
Portland, Oregon
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Median home price: $378,961 Median salary: $64,635 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $62,849 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $52,492
18
Seattle, Washington
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Median home price: $528,387 Median salary: $75,822 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $87,631 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $73,190
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19
Los Angeles, California
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Median home price: $555,073 Median salary: $62,312 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $92,057 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $76,886
20
Boston, Massachusetts
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Median home price: $584,622 Median salary: $84,955 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $96,957 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $80,979
21
New York City, New York
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Median home price: $637,704 Median salary: $74,397 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $105,761 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $88,332
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22
San Francisco, California
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Median home price: $1,296,916 Median salary: $92,501 Salary needed with a 10 percent down payment: $215,089 Salary needed with a 20 percent down payment: $179,643