Metro Phoenix's ace card in calling out new residents has always been its averagely affordable home prices. Their home prices may continue to climb, but they are still way too much of a bargain when compared to the most parts of Cali, Denver, LA, and Seattle. Metro Phoenix is the 8th in the list of US' most affordable cities to buy a house in.
Cities that top Phoenix are Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis, and Atlanta. The list was formulated with consideration to the areas' average salary being enough to buy an averagely priced home.
In Phoenix, a person needs at least $43,100 earnings to afford buying median priced homes for $218,000. This is according to HSH.com.
Phoenix's household income is around $50k, making it very possible for at least half of all the residents or households to afford to buy homes instead of renting them.
However, the results are based on the people who can come up with a down payment of 20%. So, buyers have to put in about $43,000 for down payment. DP's are one of the worst enemies for home buyers, especially for those who are first time home buyers. Housing crash has led to tougher lending standards, making 20% DP a norm in home buying.
But Phoenix first time home buyers have more options, since the government and local groups have helped the area, primarily because they had almost nothing to do with the bad loans that brought about the crash in housing.
President Obama has announced this year that insurance premium on Federal Housing Administration-back mortgages, which is usually used by first timers, will be cut by 50%. Additionally, other programs are also available to make buyers put in as small as a 3% down on these gov't loans.
DP isn't the only problem in home buying. Finding an average priced home, that you can afford, that others have not made an offer on yet, is another dilemma homebuyers can encounter.
