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

While it may not be the case in two-thirds of the U.S., median home prices in Mecklenburg County are considered affordable for average wage earners, according to a new report from ATTOM Data. Over the past year, median home prices in Mecklenburg County grew and home affordability dropped.

The report, which looked at home affordability for the first quarter of 2018, 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 Mecklenburg County, the median sales price for a home in the first quarter of 2018 was $215,000, according to ATTOM. Compared to a year ago, the median home price in Mecklenburg County grew 7 percent, according to the report.

According to ATTOM, the annual income needed to buy a median price home in Mecklenburg County is $58,947 and an average wage earner was qualified to buy a home. According to the report, based on average weekly wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average wage earner in Mecklenburg County has an annual income of $64,298.

Mecklenburg County had a home affordability index of 94 and was less affordable for average wage earners than its historic affordability average. Mecklenburg County’s affordability index also decreased 8 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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