If you make $90K, you can afford a house in Washington

How much household income do you need to qualify for a mortgage to buy a median-priced home in the Washington area?

With 5 percent down, it’s $90,491, according to third quarter data from the National Association of Realtors.

That’s based on a median sales price of an existing single-family home of $392,500 in the third quarter in the Washington Metro area, a price that’s up 8.3 percent from a year ago.

According to the D.C. office of the Chief Financial Officer, median selling prices in D.C. proper are around $600,000.

Putting more money down eases the burden on household income requirements. With 10 percent down, it takes $85,728 in household income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced house in the region. With 20 percent down, the figure falls to $76,203.

Out in Silicon Valley, those big paychecks are welcome for those looking to buy a home. In the San Jose area, it takes a household income of $185,593 to qualify for a mortgage with 5 percent down for a median-priced home.

The median price of an existing single-family home that sold in the third quarter in San Jose was $805,000, up nearly 20 percent from a year ago.

The most affordable market in the country is Toledo, Ohio, where a household income of just $20,173 is enough to qualify for a mortgage with 5 percent down on a median priced home of $87,500.

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