Housing

The Cheapest Home Market In America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: July 10, 2023 9:27 am

Recently, real estate research firm ATTOM released a study titled, “Top 10 U.S. Counties With Highest Income Needed to Buy A Home.” As might be expected, the list was concentrated in the counties where home prices are highest in the country. However, the list also included places where home prices were cheapest when price and income were considered. That list was led by Cambria County, PA, at an income of $14,715.

ATTOM’s Q2 2022 U.S. Home Affordability Report showed that the county where people must make the most money to buy a median-priced home was Manhattan, part of New York City, where the income required was $383,062. It was followed by San Mateo County, CA, at $361,004; Marin County, CA, at $352,153; Santa Clara County, CA, at $340,803 and San Francisco County, CA, at $327,906.

Cambria was followed by Cambria County, PA, at $14,715; Schuylkill County, PA, at $20,679; Fayette County, PA, at $23,555; Robeson County, NC, at $23,937 and St. Lawrence County, NY at $25,405. Notably, these incomes are at or below the poverty level for a family of four.

The data assumed a 20% down payment and a 28% maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio.

The study presents yet another example of the huge income inequality in the U.S. In one country, the income needed to buy a median-priced home was $383,000. In another, it was $15,000.