Tampa Among 25 Least Expensive Cities To Purchase Home

TAMPA, FL—It may be the American dream. However, it seems you have to earn a fortune to buy a home in many parts of the country.

Fortunately, Tampa isn’t one of the metropolitan areas with home prices so high it precludes anyone except a millionaire from buying a home.

According to HSH.com,the nation’s largest publisher of mortgage and consumer loan information, you can afford a home in Tampa Bay even if your salary is relatively modest.

HSH.com took a look at 50 metropolitan areas and calculated the salary needed to afford the principal, interest, tax and insurance payments on a median-priced home. Tampa rated among the 25 areas that require the least salary to own a home.

According to HSH.com, you can become a homeowner in Tampa with a salary of $49,473 a year. That’s about $12,000 more than the salary required in the least expensive metropolitan area, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There, you can purchase a median-priced home on a salary of only $37,306.

To calculate the salaries needed to become homeowners, HSH.com looked at data for median-priced homes from the National Association of Realtors, national mortgage rate data from Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, property taxes and homeowners insurance costs.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the result of the study isn’t promising for families hoping to live the American dream.

"Unfortunately, the pace of new listings was unable to replace what was quickly sold,” Yun said. “"While there was some moderation in price appreciation last quarter, home prices still far exceed incomes in several parts of the country..."

The national average cost of a median-priced home is currently $254,000. With a 30-year mortgage, a homeowner would pay $1,292.45 a month and need to make a salary of at least $55,390 year.

The equivalent home in Tampa costs $225,000. With a 30-year-mortgage, the homeowner would pay $1,154 a month and would need to bring home $49,473.67.

While the cost of homes in Tampa increased negligibly over last year, other parts of the country experienced a dramatic increase in home prices. The most expensive market was San Jose, California, which saw a 16.5 percent increase in the median price of homes. Seattle, Washington, was next in line with a 13.36 percent increase.

Read HSH's full real estate report here.

Image via HSH.com