How much "house" will 100K get you?

Question

I don't know much about home buying, but I do know that the median income of the profession I am on my way to is 100K a year. So I'm trying to figure out what kind of house I will be able to purchase. I realize there are numerous factors that go into purchasing a home, such as credit score, job stability, down payment, etc. Can someone give me a ball park figure?

Answer 1

Where will you be living, location is often the biggest factor for housing price.  In NY or LA it would be tough.  In middle of country you will be fine.

Answer 2

Here where I live (Wilkes-Barre, PA), $100,000 will get you a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a lot 50 feet wide by 100 feet long.  You may also get an in-ground swimming pool for that, as well as a 2 car garage and a paved driveway.  You can also expect a fireplace, cathedral ceilings, and fresh paint and carpeting throughout.

But then, in Philadelphia, PA, $100,000 will get you a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom home in the middle of a block of row homes, with no available parking, no yard, and the worst neighborhood in the city.  The home will be in desperate need of remodeling, and will likely need new heating, new pipes, new wiring, and new windows.

Its all in the location.

Try Realtor.com for home prices in your area.  Its an excellent site, with homes from everywhere in the United States and Canada.

Edit - With $100,000 a year as your salary, that means you are making $50 per hour.  This is a nice paycheck, I wish I had this kind of money.  Anyway, you usually want to put between 7% to 15% down on a house.  To make it easy, lets go with 10%.  So, if you are going to buy a $200,000 house, you would be putting $20,000 down on it.  Making $100,000 per year gives you $1,923 per week in earnings, meaning you'll need to save 10 and a half weeks worth of paychecks for the down payment of $20,000.

Answer 3

It all depends where you live in the country. If you live near or in a large city you can't get much for 100K but if you move to Alabama, some parts of Texas or other places not too near a major city, and with low taxes, 100K can get you a 3 bedroom, 2 car garage, single story house and the land it sits on.  

Answer 4

That is too broad of a question. If you buy a house in some town that has no economy like in Montana or Wyoming, it could buy a 3 bedroom house but not a real fancy one or anything. If you live in California or Florida, it wont buy anything. If you take 100,000 to a country like Thailand (where Im moving to in 3 months), you can buy a 3 story house on the beach and never have to work again. Im telling you now, you should consider that because its paradise and everybody speaks english and yes they have pizza there too.

100,000 per year on a mortgage will buy you the nicest house you can imagine. But I wouldnt even do the per year thing, doesnt make sense. I would work for 2 years, and then take off and go live on a beach in a cheaper country. Why would you want to work the rest of your life if you didnt have to?