You Have to Earn How Much to Afford an Average Home in Philly?

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Here’s an interesting question: how much would you have to earn a year in order to afford the principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments on a median-priced home in Philadelphia ($213,300)? New data from mortage research site HSH.com says that it’s $50,914.04, so you better start pinching those pennies if you’re looking for a new place. Why? It’s actually higher–over $7,500 more on average– if you’re not putting down that intimidating 20% figure–$42,660 in this case. It rounds out to a payment of just under $1,200 per month. It’s worth noting that these numbers are merely estimates, given that things like property taxes and the cost of insurance varies.

From HSH.com:

Philadelphia is one of two metro areas on our list that experienced both quarterly and yearly price declines.  The City of Brotherly Love is also the first metro to crack the $50,000-salary mark.

As it turns out, that average salary is in the middle of the pack of the 27 metro areas researched. It’s higher than Pittsburgh, Atlanta and even that population-inflating San Antonio, but lower than the likes of Baltimore, Denver and Boston. There ain’t no way that any of these cities–including New York, Los Angeles and San Diego–are touching San Fransisco’s mind-boggling average salary of $142,448. That’s nearly three times Philly’s average.

• The salary you must earn to buy a home in 27 metros [HSH.com]
• Map: The salary you need to buy a home in 27 U.S. cities [Wonk Blog/WaPo]