Time For a Raise
How much more money you need to earn in 2024 to afford a home in Dallas
You'll need to save a lot more than change.
Of all the things that have changed since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, one of the most drastic is the residential real estate market.
In 2020, according to a new report from real estate company Zillow, a household earning $59,000 annually could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, spending no more than 30 percent of its income with a 10 percent down payment.
That was below the U.S. median income of about $66,000, meaning more than half of American households had the financial means to afford homeownership.
Now, the average U.S. home shopper needs to make more than $106,000 to comfortably afford a home.
That's a difference of more than $47,000 in just four years. Or, put another way, the income needed to comfortably afford a home is up 80 percent since 2020, while median income has risen just 23 percent in that time.
In Dallas, it's even more expensive. As of January 2024, Zillow has calculated $121,398 as the necessary income benchmark for home affordability here.
That's an increase of $53,679 from 2020, using Zillow's Home Value Index to estimate the typical Dallas home price of $366,690.
Assuming a 10 percent down payment, Zillow's monthly mortgage payment in Dallas hovers around $2,340 (compared to the U.S. average of $2,188).
The monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled since January 2020, up 96.4 percent. Home values have risen 42.4 percent in that time, with the typical U.S. home now worth about $343,000.
Mortgage rates ended January 2020 near 3.5 percent, keeping the cost of a home affordable for most households that could manage the down payment. At the time of Zillow's analysis, mortgage rates were about 6.6 percent.
Austin has also soared past the $100K mark to $149,267 needed in income for a $2,880 monthly mortgage on a $451,322 home.
Houston is on the "affordable" side of the report, with a yearly income of $95,374 necessary to afford a $300,955 home, paying $1,920 monthly after 10 percent down.
San Antonio is also nearby on the list: You'd need to earn $95,767 yearly to afford a $283,161 home, paying only $1,807 a month.
California, not surprisingly, requires the highest incomes: San Diego ($273,613) and Los Angeles ($279,250) seem downright cheap compared to San Francisco ($339,864) and San Jose ($454,296), where the latter will expect you to plunk down nearly $1.5 million for a home and pay almost $10,000 a month in mortgage.
Seattle and New York round out the eye-popping top of the list, while Pittsburgh, Memphis, Cleveland, and New Orleans are deemed the most affordable. Only Pittsburgh is close to 2020's numbers, requiring $58,232 in income for a $1,286 monthly mortgage.
