How Much You Need To Earn To Buy A Home: San Francisco Bay Area

BAY AREA — While home prices in the San Jose metropolitan area fell on an annual basis, it’s still the region where residents need to make the highest salary in the country to afford a home, according to a new study. Right behind it, the San Francisco metropolitan area.

The study, released by the mortgage resource website HSH.com, used the latest available quarterly home-price information from the National Association of Realtors, and incorporates local property tax and homeowner’s insurance costs to calculate the income needed to qualify for a median-priced home.

According to the study, which used home-price data from the fourth quarter of 2018, the salary needed to buy a home in in the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area is $198,978.01. Like San Jose, home prices fell more than three percent in the most recent quarter. Still, with a median home price of $952,200, a monthly mortgage including principal, interest, taxes and insurance runs a staggering $4,642.82.

While San Jose was the least affordable metropolitan area on the list, the Pittsburgh area was the most affordable metropolitan area. The study found that the difference in salary required between the two areas to afford a home was a whopping $217,000.

According to the study, median home prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 were lower compared to the third quarter of 2018. However, it noted that this was not uncommon and it doesn’t indicate that homes are becoming more affordable.

San Jose was also the only metropolitan area to see a year-over-year decline in median home prices. The median home prices in all 49 other metro areas ranked in the study stayed the same or saw an increase. However, HSH.com says nationally, there appears to be evidence that the rate at which home prices are increasing has started to slow.

The 10 most expensive metros for buying a home are:

San Jose (Salary needed: $254,835.73)
San Francisco (Salary needed: $198,978.01)
San Diego (Salary needed: $131,640.79)
Los Angeles (Salary needed: $123,156.01)
Boston (Salary needed: $106,789.93)
New York City (Salary needed: $105,684.33)
Seattle (Salary needed: $105,367.89)
Washington D.C. (Salary needed: $94,408.70)
Denver (Salary needed: $91,672.45)
Portland (Salary needed: $85,173.08)

The 10 least expensive metros for buying a home are:

Pittsburgh (Salary needed: $37,659.86)
Cleveland (Salary needed: $40,437.72)
Oklahoma City (Salary needed: $41,335.41)
Memphis (Salary needed: $41,400.93)
Indianapolis (Salary needed: $42,288.92)
Louisville (Salary needed: $42,323.15)
Cincinnati (Salary needed: $43,429.97)
St Louis (Salary needed: $44,215.56)
Birmingham (Salary needed: $44,593.35)
Buffalo (Salary needed: $45,698.05)

You can read the full study from HSH.com here.

(Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news from your California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!) Also See:

• 10 Calif. Restaurants Earn AAA 5-Diamond Rating
• Snow Above Palomares: Photos of the Day
• Alameda Girl Desperately Needs Bone Marrow Transplant