home purchase
Realtor.com reports that the recent rise in mortgage rates has increased the income required to buy your first home in the United States by 86%.
The average cost of a starter home is up 48% nationwide, and the estimated gross income needed to buy a home jumps 86%. A report released by Realtor.com on Wednesday.
And the hits keep coming for buyers: Home price gains are slowing Nationwide — even in the Boston metropolitan area — but mortgage rates are 14-year high.
So how much income do you need to make to buy a two-bedroom starter home in Metro Boston? According to reports, you’ll need to earn $183,855 to buy a starter home here. For many prospects, this is a deal breaker. median household income In 2020, Metro Boston earned $76,298, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Melvin A. Vieira, Jr., president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, attributes the rising prices to “a shortage of housing under construction.”
“Additionally, we didn’t think about how we would navigate different segments of the market, including baby boomers, baby boomers, and millennials, who are the largest population on the planet,” Vieira told Boston.com. Told. on mail. ”For example, more than he did not think about how to build a family of three. [and] Two households, so many generations [families] You can move in together or even buy a house together like before. ”
Lack of land to build on is another factor, he writes, but there are two key things that need to be addressed to provide more affordable housing. “We need a big push for zoning reform,” he wrote. “The process of building any kind of project or house takes too long. We need to learn how to speed up the process so that the maintenance costs for developers go down.”
To address the need for more affordable housing, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is considering: Doubles the speed of the approval process“Building Boston for All means ensuring that all residents and families have access to safe, affordable housing throughout the community,” Wu said in a statement Thursday. said in
Specifically, Wu directed the Boston Planning and Development Agency to consider and recommend changes to Section 80 of the Boston Zoning Code to “establish alternative pathways for review of affordable housing developments.” ‘ said the official in a news release.
But the affordable housing problem isn’t confined to Boston and its neighboring communities. Let’s compare how the other New He piled up the subway in England.
Metro | Estimated monthly payment | Estimated required income |
---|---|---|
Boston | $4,596 | $183,855 |
Worcester | $2,685 | $107,412 |
springfield | $1,903 | $76,137 |
providence | $2,615 | $104,615 |
Portland, Maine | $3,383 | $135,311 |
Hartford, Connecticut | $1,813 | $72,510 |
Portland, Maine’s income requirements may surprise you, Greater Boston Home Shopper Outflow In northern New England and Providence, probably not.
Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale told Boston.com in an email. “Actually our Cross-market demand data Starting in Q2, Boston was the largest source of home shoppers in the Portland-South metropolitan area, with 29% of shoppers shopping nearly as many as the Portland metropolitan area itself (30.2%) A guest was coming from Boston. ”
But what does that mean for local prospects?
“Other major East Coast metropolitan cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia have also sent buyers to Portland,” she wrote. “In total, more than three of her five of her Portland shoppers were out-of-state visitors. All of the interest from elsewhere is driving up the value of local homeowners. Nevertheless, it’s probably getting harder for local homebuyers to compete.”

And the rise in home prices has been noticeable across New England. See how costs have skyrocketed in these metropolitan areas compared to pre-pandemic levels.
city | September 2019 median initial home price |
September 2022 median initial home price |
price increase rate |
---|---|---|---|
Boston | $469,950 | $659,000 | 40.2% |
Portland, Maine | $295,000 | $485,000 | 64.4% |
springfield | $191,400 | $272,900 | 42.6% |
providence | $272,500 | $374,977 | 37.6% |
Hartford | $179,900 | $259,900 | 44.5% |
And the surge in median monthly payments for these homes:
city | 2019 Starter Home monthly payment |
2022 Starter Home monthly payment |
% gain monthly payment |
---|---|---|---|
Boston | $2,597 | $4,596 | 77% |
Portland, Maine | $1,630 | $3,383 | 107.5% |
springfield | $1,058 | $1,903 | 80% |
Worcester | $1,381 | $2,685 | 94.4% |
providence | $1,506 | $2,615 | 73.7% |
Hartford | $994 | $1,813 | 82.4% |
And the increased income needed to buy a starter home:
city | 2019 starter Home required gross income |
2022 starter Home required gross income |
% gain with the required income |
---|---|---|---|
Boston | $103,862 | $183,855 | 77% |
Portland, Maine | $65,197 | $135,311 | 107.5% |
springfield | $42,300 | $76,137 | 80% |
Worcester | $55,251 | $107,412 | 94.4% |
providence | $60,224 | $104,615 | 73.7% |
Hartford | $39,759 | $72,510 | 82.4% |
San Jose, Calif., home of Silicon Valley, tops the list of the most expensive subways with a required revenue of $245,234, followed by San Francisco ($239,933) and Honolulu ($191,109).
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