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    Time For a Raise

    Average Houston home buyer needs 70% more income than in 2020, study finds

    Lindsey Wilson
    Mar 7, 2024 | 3:23 pm
    House fund jar

    You'll need to save a lot more than change.

    Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

    Of all the things that have changed since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, one of the most drastic is the residential real estate market.

    In 2020, according to a new report from real estate company Zillow, a household earning $59,000 annually could comfortably afford the monthly mortgage on a typical U.S. home, spending no more than 30 percent of its income with a 10 percent down payment.

    That was below the U.S. median income of about $66,000, meaning more than half of American households had the financial means to afford homeownership.

    Now, the average U.S. home shopper needs to make more than $106,000 to comfortably afford a home.

    That's a difference of more than $47,000 in just four years. Or, put another way, the income needed to comfortably afford a home is up 80 percent since 2020, while median income has risen just 23 percent in that time.

    In Houston, things are only slightly better. As of January 2024, Zillow has calculated $95,374 as the necessary income benchmark for home affordability here.

    That's a change of $39,779 from 2020 — more than 70 percent — using Zillow's Home Value Index to estimate the typical Houston home price of $300,955.

    Assuming a 10 percent down payment, Zillow's monthly mortgage payment in Houston hovers around $1,920 (compared to the U.S. average of $2,188).

    That monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home has nearly doubled since January 2020, up 96.4 percent. Home values have risen 42.4 percent in that time, with the typical U.S. home now worth about $343,000.

    Mortgage rates ended January 2020 near 3.5 percent, keeping the cost of a home affordable for most households that could manage the down payment. At the time of Zillow's analysis, mortgage rates were about 6.6 percent.

    San Antonio joins Houston on the "affordable" side of the report, with a yearly income of $95,767 needed to afford a $283,161 home, paying $1,807 after 10 percent down.

    Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas has soared past the $100K mark to $121,398, or a $2,340 monthly mortgage on a $366,690 home.

    Austinites need to earn $149,267 yearly to afford a $451,322 home, paying a whopping $2,880 a month.

    California, not surprisingly, requires the highest incomes: San Diego ($273,613) and Los Angeles ($279,250) seem downright cheap compared to San Francisco ($339,864) and San Jose ($454,296), where the latter expects buyers to plunk down nearly $1.5 million for a home and pay almost $10,000 per month in mortgage.

    Seattle and New York round out the eye-popping top of the list, while Pittsburgh, Memphis, Cleveland, and New Orleans are deemed the most affordable. Only Pittsburgh is close to 2020's numbers, requiring $58,232 in income for a $1,286 monthly mortgage.

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    rustic ranch livin'

    17-acre Hill Country ranch with stunning views listed for $3.7M

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 6, 2026 | 9:00 am
    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior
    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches
    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    A spacious property for sale in the bustling Austin suburb of Dripping Springs is now offering just over 17 acres of land for $3.7 million.

    The HC Carter Camphouse, located at 1601 Creek Road, presents a rare opportunity for its next owners to live less than two miles from downtown Dripping Springs. The 17.03-acre ranch was once part of a much larger, 205-acre ranch that contained "one of the finest Longhorn cattle herds in Texas," according to the listing description.

    The property features two renovated homes: a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, Spanish-style main house that was originally built in 1956; and a restored "Pioneer Cabin" that was built in the mid-to-late 1800's and currently serves as the guest house.

    The primary home has a gated stone courtyard with a water fountain, and a tiled wraparound porch overlooking the front yard and in-ground fire pits. Terracotta tile runs throughout the interior of the home, and rustic wood details cohesively tie the rooms together. The spacious primary bedroom features wide French doors that open to the front porch, a high angled wood panel ceiling, and a Santa Fe-style fireplace.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, main house primary bedroom The fire place in the primary bedroom will be very handy during the winter.Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The restored cabin maintains its vintage charm with stone flooring, all-wood ceilings, log beams, and antique furnishings. The home contains two bedrooms with window AC units, two fireplaces, "working bathrooms," and a kitchen.

    Onion Creek runs through the property to provide stunning Hill Country views and a barrier of separation from Creek Rd. However, it also means a majority of the land south of the creek — including the areas where both homes sit — is in a FEMA 100-year floodplain and a Dripping Springs localized floodplain. The property's survey map fills in the details.

    "The property has approximately 1,600 feet of frontage on Onion Creek, providing year-round water, and stunning views of the creek," the listing says. "The creek has never gone dry on this part of the creek since the owners have owned the property."

    The ranch first entered the market in late July as a 9.999-acre parcel of land, but the listing has since been updated to add 7.031 more acres in an adjoining lot. The land addition improves the property's privacy, nearly doubles the Onion Creek frontage, and increases the size of the "most probable new home site location," according to the listing. The expansion also effectively reduces the price-per-acre by a third.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior

    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    Whoever purchases the ranch will also become the owners of an additional one-acre lot located "outside of, but contiguous to" the 9.999-acre lot. This portion of land is leased to the property's caretaker, who previously managed the original 205-acre ranch for 25 years. The listing specifies that the caretaker "does not have the right to sell this 1 acre, which will revert to the owner in case of his death."

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