DC-Area Buyers Need to Earn $116,000 to Afford Starter Home, Per Report
by UrbanTurf Staff
A new report estimates how much DC-area buyers need to earn in order to afford a "starter home" in the region.
Redfin recently found that, in order to afford a "starter home", first-time homebuyers need to have an income of approximately $116,000, about the same as last year, but notably higher than the $91,000 needed in 2022.
The problem with the term "starter home" however is that, in many ways, those no longer exist in the U.S. housing market.
“It’s great news that starter homes are becoming a little more affordable, but there’s a catch,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “Starter homes aren’t what they used to be. A decade ago, a turnkey four-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood was often considered a starter home, but today, a small fixer-upper condo is often all a first-time homebuyer can afford.”
For context, in the DC region, the median price of a starter home was pegged at just below $365,000 about the cost of a studio or junior one-bedroom in the city.
