Here’s What You Need To Earn To Buy A Home In Lake County

Lake County is among a minority of counties across the country are considered affordable for people earning the average local wage, according to a new report from ATTOM Data. The report found that median home prices ticked up 1 percent in Lake County over the past year, but home affordability increased.

The report examined home affordability nationwide for the first quarter of 2018. It analyzed 446 counties and found that median home prices were not affordable for average wage earners in 304 counties or in 68 percent of the counties.

In Lake County, the median sales price for a home in the first quarter of 2018 was $216,500, according to ATTOM. That's down significantly from 2007, prior to Great Recession, when median sales prices were more than $292,500 and up from its most affordable level – $150,000 in early 2013. Compared to a year ago, the median home price in Lake County grew 1 percent, according to the report.

According to ATTOM, the annual income needed to buy a median price home in Lake County is $72,038, meaning an average wage earner was qualified to buy a home in the county. Based on average weekly wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average wage earner in Lake County has an annual income of $72,657.

Lake County had a home affordability index of 133, meaning it is more affordable for average wage earners than its historic average. Lake County’s affordability index also increased by 2 percent when compared to the previous year.

ATTOM collected data from publicly recorded sales deeds and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The affordability index is based on the percentage of average wages needed to make monthly house payments on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and a 3-percent down payment, including property taxes, home insurance and mortgage insurance. (Read the full methodology here.)

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