According to a report by Zillow, it takes 10.5 years to save for a down payment on a home in Boston based on a 20% down payment and a savings rate of 10% each month. The national average is 7.2 years. In 1998, a typical home in the Boston area was worth $175,400, and it took seven years to save for a 20% down payment. Since then, home values have increased 159.7%, while incomes have only grown 72.8%.
It’s easiest to save for a down payment in Pittsburgh (4.8 years), according to the report, but in San Jose, Calif., it takes a whopping 21.8 years. The median home value there is $1,287,600, and the median household income is $118,061. “It hasn’t taken this long to save for a down payment since early 2008, shortly after home values hit their highest point during the mid-2000s housing bubble,” Zillow said in a news release.
“The simple fact that home values have far outpaced income growth, lengthening the time needed to save for a down payment, contributes to millennials’ struggles to enter homeownership,” said Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s director of economic research and outreach.
Read More
