Homeownership is expensive, but the median cost of homeownership in a few Eastern cities is well under $1,000 per month.
MarketWatch looked at a recent report from mortgage-data company HSH.com and found six cities — Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit, and Atlanta — where people with a modest salary could afford a home.
A person hoping to buy the median home in Pittsburgh, for instance, would spend $756 per month (which factors in principal, interest, taxes and insurance payments) on a house. That means the buyer would need a salary of a little more than $32,000 to afford the house, assuming that the person spends 28 percent of his or her income on housing.
The rates are based on 20 percent down payments, 30-year fixed-rate loans, and buyers with good credit.