HOME BUYING IS HARD WORK
This is how long Austin home buyers need to work to save for a down payment
Plan on between 4 and 6 years of savings to get those keys.
With home prices rising for most of 2022 in Austin and around the country, thoughts about saving for a down payment have been distressing, to say the least.
SmartAsset.com, a consumer-focused financial information and advice website, analyzed and ranked the 50 largest U.S. cities on how long it takes the average household to save for a home, with calculations for a 12 percent or 20 percent down payment. The study compared the median household income and median home values for each area to determine the rankings.
The new study says Austin buyers will need to work for 3.64 or 6.07 years, saving up for a 12 or 20 percent down payment on a median home value of $482,900 with a median income of $79,542. Compared to Los Angeles where it takes the longest (11.6 years) and New York (10 years), that's somewhat encouraging.
Compared to other Texas cities, however, it's less encouraging: Austin was the only Texas city to rank in the top third, tying with Las Vegas for 14th place.
Dallas came in 24th, right in the middle of the pack, as did most Texas cities. With a median income of $57,995 and a median home value of $267,600 in Dallas, only 2.77 years of work and saving would be needed for a 12 percent down payment.
That's comparable to Houston, where the median income of $55,499 and median home price of $236,700 placed the city 31st out of 50. Houstonians need to work, on average, 2.56 years to save for a 12 percent down payment and 4.26 years for a 20 percent down payment.
Elsewhere in North Texas and around the state:
- Fort Worth ranked 27th with 2.19 or 3.65 years of work needed to save for the $249,000 median home price on a $68,235 median income.
- Arlington came in at number 32 with 2.55 or 4.25 years of work needed to save for the $254,700 median home price on a $59,889 median income.
- San Antonio placed 38th with 2.16 or 3.60 years of work needed to save for the $197,600 median home price on a $54,923 median income.
- El Paso came in 48th with 1.97 or 2.98 years of work needed to save for the $152,800 median home price on a $51,241 median income.
Texans looking to save for a shorter time without moving too far away might look to Oklahoma, where Tulsa ranked 42nd (2.02 or 3.37 years,) and Oklahoma City tied with Memphis, Tennessee for 46th place (1.97 or 3.22 years.)
