How Much You Need To Earn To Afford A Home In Pittsburgh: Study

PITTSBURGH, PA - If you’re looking to buy a home in or around Pittsburgh, there’s good news: You don’t have to have a six-figure income to make your mortgage payments. In fact, a study by the mortgage resource website HSH.com reveals the city is the least expensive metro area for purchasing a home.

The study 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 Pittsburgh is $37,659.. That’s based on a median home price of $141,625 and a monthly mortgage payment of $878. The study noted that the if homebuyers down payment was 10 percent instead of 20 percent, the required salary increases to $42,611.

While the Pittsburgh area was the most affordable metropolitan area on the list, San Jose was the least affordable. 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.

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