According to data from Realtor.com, the median national home price in the United States is $412,000, and for Americans who want to own a home, the magic number of days they must work each month to afford the mortgage payment is 10. However, in certain states, people may be obliged to labor up to 17 days, which is an additional week.
“The number of workdays required to afford a home today stems from a couple factors,” said Charlie Lankston, Executive Editor of Realtor.com. “First, home prices have risen faster than incomes, widening the gap between earnings and housing costs. Second, elevated mortgage rates have increased borrowing costs, further stretching monthly budgets. As a result, prospective buyers must allocate more of their income, and consequently, more work days each month, to afford mortgage payments.”
Workdays Needed to Afford Monthly Payments Differs Across U.S.
Hawaii is aptly known as the Paradise of the Pacific, so it should come as no surprise that people want to live there. However, that also means that the median home list price in the country is the highest, at $796,947. On average, homeowners who buy a property at this price range will have to work 17 days a month merely to make the $5,222 monthly payment, which includes insurance and taxes.
Homeowners in California, a state with high demand, must work an average of 15 days a month to make $4,773 in payments, which includes insurance and taxes. Additionally, the ordinary Montana homeowner, whose median home list price is $613,275, would have to work 15 days a month, perhaps due to an increase in population and the rising cost of attractive places like Bozeman.
The midwestern and southeast coasts of the U.S., on the other hand, deal with a different reality. At $247,000 and $259,450, respectively, West Virginia and Ohio have the lowest median home list prices, and their residents must work roughly seven and six days a month to make their mortgage payments. Other states including Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Michigan only require an average of one week of employment.
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