SAN ANTONIO – Did you get a 50% raise this year? Probably not. But, a homebuyer needs to earn about that much more compared to just a year ago to afford a typical home in San Antonio.
The statistic shared by the Real Estate site Redfin is just further evidence that more and more people are getting priced out of home ownership.
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The median sale price of homes in San Antonio in October was $325,000 — up from $301,000 in October of 2021, according to Redfin. The increase in home prices coupled with skyrocketing mortgage rates puts the median mortgage payment at 2,186, up from $1,463 just a year ago.
Based on the recommendation that homeowners spend no more than 30% of their income on total monthly mortgage payments — that now means that a person/couple must earn $87,453 to purchase a home priced right in the middle of all the homes for sale in San Antonio.
In 2021, a salary of $58,532 could get you that same home. That’s an increased salary requirement of nearly $29,000, or 49.4% in one year — which very few people actually accomplished.
In fact, Redfin found that the average U.S. hourly wage grew only about 5% in the last year, which is less than the inflation rate.
If a salary of $87,000 seems high, San Antonio is still faring better than many U.S. cities.
Redkin found that homeowners must earn at least $100,000 to buy a home in nearly half of the metro areas they analyzed.
Click here to see the full list of cities and the annual income required to afford the median-priced home in each.
Despite the dire statistics, Real Estate experts say if you’re wanting to buy a home and you can afford to do it, you shouldn’t wait.
“I’m encouraging buyers to think long term,” said Washington, D.C. Redfin agent Chelsea Traylor. “Prices are unlikely to fall drastically in the long run, so buying a home now–if you can afford the monthly payment–will still help you build wealth over time, especially if you plan to live in it for several years. Even though rates are high, another advantage of buying now is the lack of competition and opportunity to negotiate with sellers.”