![Here's how much you have to make to afford a starter home in the U.S.](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/02/08/7c38f877-3beb-4008-9c16-1630fd09f4d8/thumbnail/1200x630/14c1247571807c9880a1502049e4279f/gettyimages-953511340.jpg?v=3d62f4cc0092e6eb151a9685301ed284)
Here's how much you have to make to afford a starter home in the U.S.
CBSN
Americans must earn at least $76,000 a year to afford a basic home in the U.S., a sharp increase from the recommended income to become a homeowner before the pandemic, according to Redfin.
Only four years ago, people with annual earnings of $40,500 could afford a typical starter house, the online estate firm said in a new report. But the double whammy of rising mortgage rates and record high home prices has lifted the cost beyond the means of many Americans.
"The pandemic housing-market boom changed the definition of a starter home," Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa said in a statement. "A decade ago, many people thought of a starter home as a small three-bedroom single-family house. Now that type of home could cost seven figures, especially in expensive parts of the country."
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