One of the questions we're asked quite often of people buying a Metro Atlanta home is, "How much salary do I need to make in order to qualify for a mortgage?"
On a national scale, a buyer who puts 20 percent down would need to earn a salary of $48,604 to afford the median-priced home in America. But that total varies a lot from city to city, and that holds true for anyone buying a Metro Atlanta home.
HSH.com estimates that you can buy the median home while making less in some areas than others, but some salaries require nearly $90,000 or more. But the most expensive city by far is San Francisco, where the site estimates you would need to make $142,448 to buy the median home in the area.
Qualifying Guidelines When Buying a Metro Atlanta Home
The site's calculations assume that a buyer spends 28 percent of gross monthly income on housing, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance, (in line with industry guidelines for standard "front-end" debt ratios) and makes a 20 percent down payment on a house.
To calculate the cost of buying the median-priced Metro Atlanta home, HSH.com combines its own average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages in the fourth quarter; the National Association of Realtors' data on median-home prices in the fourth quarter; average metropolitan property tax data from the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank; and statewide average homeowner insurance premium costs from the Insurance Information Institute, an industry organization.
The data is, of course, an estimate — for one, property taxes and insurance costs will vary depending on the property — but it gives you a good idea of how housing costs varied around the country in the fourth quarter.
Another varying factor based on buying a Metro Atlanta home is the lower mortgage rates today compared to when rates climb higher. As interest rates rise, so must the salary of the average buyer of a Metro Atlanta home.
Find more news articles as they relate to buying a Metro Atlanta home under our Atlanta Home Buying Tips section of articles, as well as Atlanta Mortgage Info to your right under Atlanta Real Estate Categories.
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