Realtor reveals how much Americans have to make per year to afford a house
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Instagram / fmsmith319 / Getty Stock Image
Here in the US, getting on the property ladder can be tough.
From hefty down payments to demand for housing - and don't even get us started on mortgage interest rates - it can feel almost impossible.
And a realtor has revealed just how much Americans have to earn per year to afford an 'average home'.
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Discussing the issue on TikTok, Orlando realtor Freddie Smith revealed that people's salaries need to be at a much higher number for them to even think about buying a house.
Smith - who regularly shares videos with advice and insight into the property market - claimed that in order to own a home, Americans would need to be earning a salary of over $100,000.
In fact, Smith claims it would need to be around $120,000.
Smith revealed how he came up with this figure, noting that the average house price in the States is somewhere between $375,000 and $400,000.
He explained: "Your net pay on $120,000 is going to put about $7,800 in your pocket but your house payment on a house like that with these interest rates is about $3,700 out the door.
"$300 on utilities, you're on four grand just for housing. Then you've got $800 for health and car insurances, $1,000 for groceries, $300 to put gas in the cars, $150 on cell phones.
"Maybe one of you has student debt for $400, maybe one of you still has a car payment for $500, $250 in credit cards, $100 for personal care, $100 for subscriptions, and this is if you don't have kids or pets and you're left with about 200 bucks.
"And this doesn't account for if you have kids, a savings account, 500 bucks a month into an IRA [investment retirement account] or putting money towards your debt [...] or the big one is having fun, being able to go out once a week or buy gifts or save up for a vacation."
Smith explained that just three years ago, the same could be achieved on a salary of $70,000.
"It nearly doubled in just three years," he continued.
According to DQYDJ, the average income in the US currently stands at $69,000 with only 18.8 percent of Americans earning six figures or more.
Over in the UK, the average salary is £34,963 and the average house price for 2023 was £290,000 ($366,600).
Brits are hoping that mortgage rates will begin to come down this year.
While the current Bank Rate is 5.25 percent, it's thought interest rates could fall to five per cent by May, 4.75 percent in June, 4.5 percent in August and four percent in November.