- Home prices across the United States have continued to rise, though at a steadier pace, with 91% of metros showing sales-price gains, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors.
- Some of the most expensive housing markets, including San Jose and San Francisco, experienced slight home-price declines.
- Homebuying affordability has decreased year-over-year, in part due to a gap in inventory.
- Homebuyers in the San Francisco metro area must earn just under $200,000 a year to qualify for a mortgage with 20% down.
Middle-class homebuyers are still struggling.
Despite a slight drop in home prices in the most expensive housing markets, prices rose in 91% of 178 US metro areas in the second quarter of 2019, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said the price increases are in large part due to a continued lack of inventory at affordable price points. "Housing unaffordability will hinder sales irrespective of the local job market conditions," Yun said. "This is evident in the very expensive markets as home prices are either topping off or slightly falling,"
California is a particularly difficult market, though the income needed to qualify for a mortgage in San Francisco and Los Angeles metro areas decreased in the second quarter of 2019.
Each quarter, NAR calculates qualifying income requirements for all US metropolitan-statistical areas assuming the buyer puts 25% of gross income toward the mortgage principal and interest. The calculations are done for 5%, 10%, and 20% down payments at a 3.9% interest rate. Metro areas are based on the US Census definitions.
Below, we've pulled the qualifying annual income amounts for the 25 largest metros by population, ranked from lowest to highest qualifying income with 20% down. Detroit and Pittsburgh are not included because of insufficient data.
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25. St. Louis, Missouri
Income needed for 20% down: $36,488
Income needed for 10% down: $41,049
24. San Antonio, Texas
Income needed for 20% down: $44,730
Income needed for 10% down: $50,321
23. Atlanta, Georgia
Income needed for 20% down: $44,898
Income needed for 10% down: $50,510
22. Houston, Texas
Income needed for 20% down: $46,715
Income needed for 10% down: $52,554
21. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Income needed for 20% down: $47,614
Income needed for 10% down: $53,566
20. Tampa, Florida
Income needed for 20% down: $48,891
Income needed for 10% down: $51,627
19. Charlotte, North Carolina
Income needed for 20% down: $49,843
Income needed for 10% down: $56,074
18. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Income needed for 20% down: $51,585
Income needed for 10% down: $58,033
17. Orlando, Florida
Income needed for 20% down: $52,072
Income needed for 10% down: $58,581
16. Chicago, Illinois
Income needed for 20% down: $52,128
Income needed for 10% down: $58,644
15. Phoenix, Arizona
Income needed for 20% down: $53,477
Income needed for 10% down: $60,162
14. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Income needed for 20% down: $55,088
Income needed for 10% down: $61,974
13. Baltimore, Maryland
Income needed for 20% down: $57,766
Income needed for 10% down: $64,987
12. Miami, Florida
Income needed for 20% down: $67,432
Income needed for 10% down: $75,860
11. Riverside, California
Income needed for 20% down: $71,178
Income needed for 10% down: $80,075
10. Sacramento, California
Income needed for 20% down: $72,114
Income needed for 10% down: $81,129
9. Portland, Oregon
Income needed for 20% down: $77,790
Income needed for 10% down: $87,513
8. New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York
Income needed for 20% down: $78,820
Income needed for 10% down: $88,672
7. Washington, DC
Income needed for 20% down: $85,507
Income needed for 10% down: $96,195
6. Denver, Colorado
Income needed for 20% down: $88,298
Income needed for 10% down: $99,335
5. Boston, Massachusetts
Income needed for 20% down: $94,910
Income needed for 10% down: $106,774
4. Seattle, Washington
Income needed for 20% down: $101,653
Income needed for 10% down: $114,360
3. Los Angeles, California
Income needed for 20% down: $106,205
Income needed for 10% down: $119,480
2. San Diego, California
Income needed for 20% down: $122,688
Income needed for 10% down: $138,024
1. San Francisco, California
Income needed for 20% down: $196,675
Income needed for 10% down: $221,260