Houston Starter-Home Income Requirement Falls 4% to $70,384, 9th-Biggest Drop Among 50 Metros
Updated
Updated · CultureMap Houston · Aug 10
Houston Starter-Home Income Requirement Falls 4% to $70,384, 9th-Biggest Drop Among 50 Metros
1 articles · Updated · CultureMap Houston · Aug 10
Summary
$70,384 is now the income needed to buy a median-priced starter home in Houston, down 4% from a year earlier, according to Redfin.
Redfin said affordability improved because the income needed to buy a starter home is declining while earnings are rising; Houston's median household income was estimated at $90,865, making all local starter listings affordable by that measure.
Houston's required income is nearly in line with the U.S. starter-home average of $70,693, and the metro ranked ninth for the biggest decline among 50 markets Redfin analyzed.
Texas metros showed similar easing, with Austin at $92,607, Dallas at $83,096, Fort Worth at $77,886 and San Antonio at $62,859, all down from last year.
The broader housing market remains far less affordable: U.S. households need just under $110,000 to buy the typical home, about $22,000 more than the typical household earns.