15 housing markets where renters can become homeowners fastest

The need for a down payment and the upfront costs of a home remain the biggest hindrances for most prospective house hunters. After rent and other monthly payments get made, there's not always much left over to save.

However, not all metro areas are equal, and in some the median renter can save up enough to become a homeowner in less than five years. With reduced savings times, these cities could be hot markets for mortgage originations.

"Cities that require less time for renters to become homeowners can be particularly good options for the increasing number of millennials looking to purchase property while facing other financial challenges like raising a family or paying off student loans and credit card debt," AJ Smith, vice president of financial education at SmartAsset, said in a statement to NMN. "In the top 10 cities on our list, the average resident can afford the upfront costs of the typical home in about four years or less if they save 40% of their income remaining after paying income taxes and rent."

From Texas to Ohio, here's a look at the top 15 housing markets providing the shortest timelines for renters to buy a home, according to SmartAsset.

For the analysis, SmartAsset weighed five factors in each of the largest 100 U.S. cities: Median income, effective income tax rate, median annual rent, median home value and average closing costs in each city. Data comes from the Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey.

The fintech company used the median income, local tax rate and median annual rent to calculate how much income a renter would have left over after paying income taxes and for housing. The study operated under the assumption renters would save 40% of their post-tax and post-rent income annually. Then the timeframes were calculated based on how long it'd take the savings to cover a 20% down payment plus the average closing costs on a median-priced house in each city.

Estimated years to homeownership: 4.3
Income after taxes and rent: $14,398
Upfront home costs: $24,759