ATLANTA — Homeownership is becoming increasingly harder to afford for middle-class Atlantans, according to a recent analysis from national real estate company Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ZG).
Prospective homebuyers earning the national median income would need to make a down payment of just over $118,000 to land an affordable monthly mortgage payment in the metro area, per the report.
The analysis did not disclose the annual salary used to calculate potential down payments. But the median income for all full-time wage and salary workers in the U.S. was about $59,540 at the end of 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Comparably, a buyer with this income would need to put down nearly $128,000 for the typical American home to comfortably afford a monthly mortgage payment, per the report.
Mortgages are considered “affordable” so long as buyers don't dedicate more than 28% of their pretax monthly income to housing costs, according to a rule of thumb supported by many mortgage lenders. Zillow’s calculations assumed a household expense-to-income ratio of 30%.