Homeownership

Do salaries stack up?

By Erica Rascón on Mar 22, 2016 in News

Finder.com recently gathered data on 78 cities throughout the US. The figures were used to determine the salaries needed to buy a home and live comfortably within these cities. The average wage in the US–$52,250 according to the US Census Bureau—sustains homeownership in only 46 percent of the listed cities. Realistically, the numbers are even more conservative than the data would suggest.

Of the cities examined, the top ten cities on the list that required the highest salaries would not surprise anyone. California cities occupy nearly half of the top ten. San Francisco led the pack, suggesting a salary of at least $180,600 for the average home priced at a cool $1,119,500.

San Jose and Los Angeles came in second and third, respectively. A resident earning $129, 864 could afford the average home in San Jose while $90,244 is needed in Los Angeles.

My beloved Atlanta comes in at 45 on the list. The average home, priced at $180,000, requires a salary of about $51,551.

Jackson, MS, wraps up the list. Residents earning $43,265 can ideally afford to buy a home and live comfortably.

In defining what it means to live comfortably and buy a home, the site made several assumptions that simply don’t resonate with many Americans. We will take the Atlanta market, for example.

For buyers seeking a home in the $180,000s, the assumption that the homebuyer has the ability to pay off annual non-mortgage related household debt and has saved up $36,000 as a down payment is unrealistic.

Manuel Cabrera, Branch Manager with CalAtlantic mortgage, shakes his head upon hearing the assumptions. “Primarily, the median home price within the Atlanta metropolitan may be $180,000 but that doesn’t mean it’s a realistic price for buying a home. There are still foreclosures and short sales that drive down median prices” he begins.

Cabrera continues, “With that said, someone looking for a $180,000 starter home rarely meets both of the aforementioned assumptions; it’s rare to have a first time buyer here with 20 percent down payment ready and waiting in the bank, as well as a low debt-to-income ratio. That’s almost non-existent,” Cabrera says.

Those who are debt free could, feasibly, save 20 percent for a down payment, secure an amazing interest rate, buy a home, and live “comfortably.”

Raise your hand if you can name 20 people in that position. Right.

Finder.com has not pulled their numbers out of the rose-colored clouds. Tightening up inconsistencies within the data could help create buyer profiles that are more realistic. For example, the analysis was based upon average non-mortgage debt in each city but average non-housing expenditures in each state. The non-housing expenditures for a resident in the rural town of Baxley, Ga are going to be significantly lower than a resident in Buckhead, Atlanta. Creating profiles based on Baxley expenses and Buckhead mortgages offers a skewed perception.

Cabrera shrugs, “Even with that selection of data points, the site is describing the ideal profile for a buyer, which simplifies the list-making process. But most people aren’t ideal buyers. That’s one of the reasons why the multifamily market remains so strong, and the demand for rentals will continue.”