While rising costs to rent are making it more difficult to save for a down payment, some local housing market conditions present more favorable circumstances for renters hoping to make a home purchase.
How long does it take to save up for a down payment? On average, renters spend nearly six-and-a-half years to save enough for a 20% down payment, according to Zillow-owned rental search platform HotPads. But in some cities, where median home and rent values are lower, renters can save for a 20% down payment in close to half that time.
"Home prices are outpacing incomes in many of the country's largest markets, which makes saving for a home more difficult. On top of that, the current generation of first-time buyers is dealing with unprecedented levels of student debt, making the down payment a major factor keeping young renters out of the housing market even though many young people say they have ambitions to buy," said Joshua Clark, economist at HotPads, in a press release.
The nation’s most exorbitant markets all lie in California. The Golden State claims six of the top seven cities that take the longest for buyers to accumulate a 20% down payment — reaching upwards of over 35 years in Silicon Valley.
The major hubs of the industrial Midwest offer the best opportunities for renters hoping to put 20% down.
From Cleveland to Pittsburgh, here's a look at 12 housing markets where renters can save for a down payment in the least amount of time. The rankings, derived from a HotPads analysis, evaluated data (based on Zillow reports) on median rents, median home values and median incomes to determine how long renters should expect to save for a down payment, with the assumption that they are setting aside 20% of their median monthly income.