U.S. Markets Where Saving Up Takes Less Time

Saving up a down payment to buy a home is taking longer today than it did 30 years ago, but since real estate is local, new research finds that buyers in some Texas markets are having an easier time.

In Houston, saving up a down payment only takes five months longer than it did in 1988, and in Austin, it takes two years less time to save up in 2018 than it did 30 years ago, per Zillow data. Homebuyers in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas are also able to save up for their homes' purchase faster today than three decades ago, The Houston Chronicle reports.

As home prices outstrip incomes across America, Zillow Director of Economic Research Skylar Olsen did a bit of back-of-the-envelope math. Assume a couple with a median income began saving up to buy a home in 1988. If they put away 10 percent of their income every month, it would take 7.2 years to save up the down payment for a median-priced home. Repeat the same calculation with the national median income and home value of today, and it would take nearly nine years to do the same.

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