S.L., Provo/Orem, Ogden rank high for expensive housing

S.L., Provo/Orem, Ogden rank high for expensive housing

By Jasen Lee, Deseret News
Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009 9:54 p.m. MDT

Three Utah cities ranked among the most expensive metropolitan areas in the nation for housing, according to a report released Thursday.

The Center for Housing Policy based in Washington, D.C., released "Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America," which said that Salt Lake City and Provo/Orem — along with Miami, Chicago and Tacoma, Wash. — all tied for the 40th most-expensive metro area in terms of homeownership in 2008. All had a median home price of $225,000.

Salt Lake City's ranking was up from No. 51 the year before, with Provo/Orem up from No. 43. The 2007 median home price for Salt Lake City was $264,000, while Provo/Orem's was $274,000. Ogden went from 78th at $228,000 in 2007 to 61st at $200,000 in 2008, the study stated.

The study said that a household would need an annual income of at least $73,104 to afford a home with a median price of $225,000, while an income of $64,981 was needed for Ogden's median price of $200,000.

The annual income needed to qualify for a mortgage was calculated using the average prevailing interest rate, assumed a 10 percent down payment and the use of private mortgage insurance, and it included principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

The study looked at housing affordability — homeownership and rental — in 210 markets nationwide and compared the information to the wages of more than 60 occupations. This year, the study also ranked affordability and compared the findings to changes in prices for the year-over-year period.

San Francisco ranked as the most expensive metro area for the second straight year, with a median home price of $575,000 in 2008, needing an annual income of nearly $187,000, the study said. In 2007, a household needed to make an annual income of more than $252,600 to afford a home at the median price of $770,000 in the "City by the Bay."

Saginaw, Mich., and Youngstown, Ohio, ranked as the least expensive cities, with a median home price of $73,000 in 2008. Those residences needed an annual income of about $24,000, according to the study.

E-MAIL: jlee@desnews.com
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