What you need to earn to afford a home in these 27 cities

Slumping home prices and lower interest rates helped drive home ownership costs lower in all but one of the country's 27 largest cities last quarter, according to a ranking by HSH.com.

 

That's good news considering that home prices have outpaced incomes for several years now, making it increasingly difficult for people to earn enough to afford owning a median-priced home, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com.

 

Of course, where you live also makes a huge difference. In Pittsburgh, you can earn just under $32,000 a year and be able to afford a median-priced home, while in San Francisco you need to make more than four times that amount, HSH.com found.

 

     Rank        City            Median home price           Monthly payment          Salary ▲

                        

1.       Pittsburgh         $135,000                        $740                               $31,716
2.       Cleveland         $121,200                        $747                               $32,010
3.       St. Louis           $138,400                        $778                               $33,323
4.       Cincinnati         $138,100                        $781                               $33,485
5.       Detroit              $135,800                        $829                               $35,521
6.       Atlanta             $157,700                         $835                               $35,800
7.       Tampa              $160,000                        $880                               $37,732
8.       Phoenix            $200,300                        $949                               $40,658
9.       Orlando            $180,000                        $983                               $42,143
10.       San Antonio     $185,500                        $1,059                            $45,374
11.       Minneapolis     $210,000                        $1,111                            $47,627
12.       Dallas               $189,600                        $1,138                            $48,787
13.       Houston            $199,300                        $1,166                            $49,983
14.       Philadelphia      $216,300                        $1,188                           $50,914
15.       Baltimore          $233,200                        $1,229                           $52,662
16.       Chicago             $195,100                        $1,268                           $54,347
17.       Sacramento        $268,700                        $1,363                          $58,412
18.       Miami                $265,000                        $1,363                          $58,431
19.       Portland             $288,900                        $1,414                          $60,604
20.       Denver               $314,800                        $1,438                          $61,642
21.       Seattle                $352,000                        $1,706                          $72,844
22.       Washington        $372,800                        $1,806                          $77,395
23.       Boston                $383,200                        $1,868                          $80,050
24.       New York           $390,000                        $2,043                          $87,536
25.       Los Angeles       $450,900                        $2,092                           $89,665
26.       San Diego          $493,100                        $2,227                            $95,433
27.       San Francisco    $742,900                        $3,324                            $142,448  

 

 Notes: HSH.com calculated the annual before-tax earnings needed to cover the cost of a median-priced home in 27 major metro areas. It assumed that the buyer has good or excellent credit, makes a 20% down payment and puts no more than 28% of their gross income goes into housing costs. Median home prices were based on the National Association of Realtors 2014 fourth quarter data. Property tax information was derived from metropolitan-area data from the Tax Foundation, while homeowner insurance costs were determined using statewide data from the Insurance Information Institute. Two cities used pricing data from other groups instead of NAR (Pittsburgh – RealSTATs; Detroit – Realcomp).

 

Source: HSH.comBy: Mark Fahey and Tal Yellin / CNNMoney

 

 

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