Ranking: Saving Up a Down Payment Takes How Many Years?

For homebuyers willing to put down a traditional 20 percent down payment, a new study finds how many years of work it could take to achieve homeownership in the 50 biggest U.S. cities.

Buyers in New York City and Los Angeles need to work more than 10 years earning the median income to be able to afford buying the local median-valued home, the highest in SmartAsset's ranking. San Francisco was in third, following NYC, requiring 9.96 years of work to afford a home by the financial planning site's parameters. Of the top 10 cities needing the most years to afford to buy a home, six were in California.

Owning a home is an important financial goal for many Americans. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that at the end of 2018, approximately 64 percent of people owned their homes. Whether homeownership is affordable for you is the first question to consider, and it’s often a tough one. That’s especially true for buyers in some of America’s biggest cities. While the costs of homeownership may make realizing this dream seem aspirational, it doesn’t have to be. With more information and some sound planning, you may be able to achieve homeownership sooner than you think.

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