$132,500: The Median Income of First-Time Buyers in the DC Area

• January 9, 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

Last fall, UrbanTurf reported that it takes prospective homebuyers 8 years to save up for a down payment on a home in the District. Now, there is another metric that illustrates just how high the barrier of entry is to the region's housing market.

While the median income in DC proper rose to $77,686 last year, earning this salary doesn't cut it when it comes to most first-time home purchases in the region. A new report by RealEstate.com shows that the median income of first-time homebuyers in the DC area comes in at $132,500. Next to San Francisco and San Jose, that is the highest median income for first-time buyers in the country. 

These first-time buyers are able to purchase homes that cost up to $617,801, accounting for 72 percent of homes for sale in the area. Nationwide, the median income among first-time buyers is $72,500, $11,800 more than that of non-buyers. 

Part of the reason first-time buyers may need to earn more is they lack existing home equity to tap into to make a new home purchase. First-time buyers tend to put a 14.5 percent down payment on a house, while 58 percent of repeat buyers make down payments of at least 20 percent.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/132500-reported-median-income-of-first-time-buyers-in-the-dc-area/14864