ATLANTA — Across the United States, real estate company Redfin says how much everyone needs to earn to buy a house is up about 0.5%.
However, that’s not the case for Atlanta and 10 other major areas in the U.S.
Out of the 50 most populated metros in the country, Atlanta was the city with the sixth highest decrease in how much income you’d need to buy.
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The national average income to buy a home was still $112,131 per year, for a median price of $447,035.
In Atlanta, the income needed fell slightly to $103,719.
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The median price to buy a home in Atlanta is $407,500, according to Redfin’s data for June.
“The income needed to afford a home is falling in the aforementioned 11 metros because home prices are falling,” Redfin said. “In Oakland, for example, the median home sale price fell 4.6% year over year in June—the largest decline among the top 50 metros. Next came West Palm Beach (-4.1%) and Jacksonville (-3.9%)."
Even though the necessary income amount to buy has gone down a bit, Redfin said that doesn’t mean the typical household can afford to buy.
"While homebuying has become more affordable in some parts of the country, the typical household still earns far less than it needs to afford the typical home," Redfin said. “The typical U.S. household earns an estimated $86,258—roughly $25,000 less than the income required to afford the typical home for sale."
Redfin said only about a third of home listings in the U.S. are affordable for the average household, a slight improvement from 2024.
Redfin said a home is considered affordable, by their company’s accounting, if a buyer will spend no more than 30% of their income on a housing payment.
Here are the 11 metro areas where affordability is coming a little closer:
- Oakland, California (-4.6%)
- West Palm Beach, Florida (-3.7%)
- Jacksonville, Florida (-3.5%)
- San Diego, California (-3.2%)
- Tampa, Florida (-2.1%)
- Atlanta, Georgia (-2%)
- Phoenix, Arizona (-1.8%)
- St. Louis, Missouri (-1%)
- Orlando, Florida (-0.7%)
- Sacramento, California (-0.4%)
- Dallas, Texas (-0.2%)
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