DENVER – A new report highlights just how far out of reach home ownership is for many in the Denver metro area.
An individual or household needs to make at least $81,349.82 a year in order to afford the median home in the Denver metro area, according to the report from hsh.com, a mortgage research site. Compare that to the Denver metro area’s median household income, which was $71,146 in 2015, the latest year for which data are available.
The analysis used median single-family home price data from the second quarter of 2017, which amounted to $424,500, according to hsh.com. That price encompasses the entire metro area and not just the city of Denver.
In calculating the salary required, HSH assumed a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 4.11 percent interest rate and a 20 percent down payment, which would mean a monthly payment of $1,898.16. That includes the principal, interest and estimated taxes and insurance.
A 20 percent down payment isn’t always necessary, but putting down less money upfront will lead to higher monthly payments. With a 10 percent down payment, one would need to make more than $95,000 a year, according to HSH.
The $81,349.82 figure makes Denver the 9th most expensive U.S. metro area for homeowners. Unsurprisingly, San Jose and San Francisco, California top the list with annual incomes of $221,364 and $181,341 needed to buy homes there, respectively.
Here are the 10 most expensive metro areas, according to hsh.com:
1. San Jose, CA: $221,364
2. San Francisco, CA: $181,341
3. San Diego, CA: $116,875
4. Los Angeles, CA: $101,532
5. New York, NY: $99,137
6. Boston, MA: 98,519
7. Seattle, WA: $93,853
8. Washington, DC: $88,664
9. Denver, CO: $81,350
10. Portland, OR: $77,607
To see how other cities compare, log on to hsh.com.
