How Much You Need To Earn To Afford A Home In Atlanta Metro

ATLANTA, GA — Even as homes prices in the Atlanta metro continue to rise, the annual salary needed to afford a typical home in the region is nearly $50,000. That puts the Atlanta area in the 20 most inexpensive markets nationally.

That's according to a new report by the mortgage resource website HSH.com, which used the latest available information on home prices, local property taxes 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 annual salary needed to buy a home in the Atlanta metro is $49,840 a year with 20 percent down. If homebuyers in the Atlanta region put 10 percent down, the required salary increases to $57,300.

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

According to the study, median home prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 were lower compared to the third quarter of 2018, but in many cases — including Atlanta — year-over-year prices were higher.

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.

The 10 most expensive metros for buying a home are:

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

The 10 least expensive metros for buying a home are:

1. Pittsburgh (Salary needed: $37,659.86)
2. Cleveland (Salary needed: $40,437.72)
3. Oklahoma City (Salary needed: $41,335.41)
4. Memphis (Salary needed: $41,400.93)
5. Indianapolis (Salary needed: $42,288.92)
6. Louisville (Salary needed: $42,323.15)
7. Cincinnati (Salary needed: $43,429.97)
8. St Louis (Salary needed: $44,215.56)
9. Birmingham (Salary needed: $44,593.35)
10. Buffalo (Salary needed: $45,698.05)

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

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