Home prices have risen dramatically over the past five years — up as much as 49 percent in Los Angeles County, California, 46 percent in Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix), and 43 percent in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas), and Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit).
Median home prices in Los Angeles County along with Cook County, Illinois (Chicago), King County, Washington (Seattle), and Kings County, New York (Brooklyn), are now higher than they were 10 years ago.
But thanks to rock-bottom interest rates, monthly house payments on a median-priced home — and the share of median income those house payments represent for first-time homebuyers and other buyers putting just 3 percent down — are lower than they were 10 years ago in nine of 10 major counties we analyzed using data from the RealtyTrac Low Down Payment Buyer Affordability and Accessibility Report.
The only exception is Brooklyn (Kings County, New York), where median-income earners would need to spend a whopping 96 percent of their monthly household income to make house payments on a median-priced home.
The infographic below shows how the costs of buying a median-priced home play out in 10 major markets nationwide for buyers putting 3 percent down and earning the median income.
Daren Blomquist is the vice president of RealtyTrac.
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