The mortgage analysis company HSH recently analyzed the cost of buying a house in the top 50 cities in the United States in the first quarter of this year. They summarized the median house prices in these cities and the annual income needed to afford a median-priced property. San Jose, California, became the most expensive city to buy a house, with a household income of $463,887 required to afford a median-priced home.
Compared to the last quarter of 2023, there was a substantial decrease in mortgage rates in the first quarter of 2024, which helped increase affordability for homebuyers. However, the availability of affordable homes in the current housing market remains low, with limited inventory of homes for sale. This has kept housing prices high, and the seasonal discounts this year have not been as significant as in previous years. This has partially offset the benefits of the decrease in mortgage rates on home purchases.
According to HSH, compared to the fourth quarter of last year, 24 cities out of the top 50 cities in the first quarter of this year saw an increase in median house prices. The median seasonal price discount across all markets was zero. In contrast, only 11 metropolitan areas saw an increase in house prices during the same period last year, with a median decrease of 2.06% in median house prices across all 50 regions.
HSH analysis indicates that the annual income needed to purchase a median-priced home in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year amounted to $104,339.02, which is 7.39% higher than the $97,161.10 required at the beginning of 2023.
Here are the top 16 most expensive cities to buy a home among the top 50 largest cities in the U.S.:
– Median house price: $1,840,000
– Required income: $463,887
– Median house price: $1,300,000
– Required income: $336,170
– Median house price: $981,000
– Required income: $241,784
– Median house price: $823,000
– Required income: $207,030
– Median house price: $755,300
– Required income: $191,332
– Median house price: $659,200
– Required income: $186,123
– Median house price: $704,700
– Required income: $186,059
– Median house price: $651,000
– Required income: $160,874
– Median house price: $625,000
– Required income: $159,528
– Median house price: $600,200
– Required income: $155,370
– Median house price: $579,900
– Required income: $146,792
– Median house price: $574,000
– Required income: $146,483
– Median house price: $533,900
– Required income: $139,283
– Median house price: $466,700
– Required income: $135,333
– Median house price: $551,200
– Required income: $134,692
– Median house price: $470,700
– Required income: $129,565
Among the top 50 cities evaluated, Cleveland, Ohio, the second-largest city in the state, is the most affordable city to buy a house, with a median house price of $191,900 and an annual income of $58,403 required for homebuyers. The second most affordable city to buy a house is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a median house price of $207,100 and an annual income of $59,604 needed for homebuyers.