A first-home down payment comes (relatively) quickly for Clevelanders
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Here's an encouraging way to look at Cleveland's housing market: It takes single people just two years to save up for a down payment on a starter home, per a recent Point2 study.
Why it matters: That's just 11 months longer than it takes couples, giving Cleveland one of the smallest "affordability gaps" in the country.
- It's also more than six years faster than the national average.
Zoom in: The median income for Cleveland singles is $26,982, compared with $51,524 for couples, per Point2 data.
- The study assumes people are saving 20% of their income for a down payment.
- This calculation assumes a 6.6% mortgage rate. Current mortgage rates are hovering above 7%.
The fine print: Point2 estimates Cleveland's median starter home price to be $53,524, based on the median price of the cheaper third of listings in the region.
Reality check: Data aside, very few Clevelanders — singles or couples — will be able to find a livable starter home at that price.
- Zillow shows only one listing below $55,000 in the so-called "middle neighborhoods" of Bellaire-Puritas, Old Brooklyn and Lee-Harvard.
- And it's a foreclosure.
The bottom line: On average, it takes single people four times longer than couples to save for a starter home, but the timeline for homeownership depends overwhelmingly on where you live.
- On much of the West Coast, homeownership is effectively off the table for singles, who would need to save for an entire lifetime.
Stunning stat: Anaheim, California, takes the cake. A single person there would have to save more than 87 years to afford a down payment.