# What is your outstanding mortgage balance to household income ratio? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975 "2005-02-08T12:47:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/21 "2005-02-08T19:57:57Z")
A quick google search reveals that the median household income in 1999 was $41,994, and the median home price in Q1 2001 was $139,700 for a ratio of 3.32, assuming nothing down. With 5% down, that drops to 3.16. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/22 "2005-02-08T20:14:26Z")
About 1.25. Not exactly sure on the exact payoff of the exact income in '04. Two years into a 20 year fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/23 "2005-02-08T20:28:01Z")
A little under 3.0 (if you’re thinking Total Cost of House/ Annual Income) but this is kind of an odd metric. It doesn’t, in any way, factor in the value of the house, or the equity involved. Owning 50% of a 50,000 house is NOT the same as owning 20% of a 400,000 house. While a 15 year mortgage sounds like a good idea, and I realize that the tax wroteoff the interest creates is a robbing peter to pay paul situation, We bought quite a bit more house than we really needed with the following criteria in mind: 1. Every time you move, it cost a TON in unrecouped moving and equipping expenses 2. We hate moving, get in a house you can’t forsee outgrowing and STAY there. 3. Hope that it’s an investment we can use while investing. My parents, about 32 years ago, were lamenting getting a home loan for $22,000. If you add a zero to that figure, and their salary, and the cost of their car, you get a ballpark figure if where we are now. Still hard to believe that in another 30 years, some young whippersnapper will buy THIS house for 3.5 mil, make 300,000 a year and drive a 120,000 car. 😮 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/24 "2005-02-08T20:38:36Z")
About 0.9, not bad for the Bay Area. And our equity is twice what we owe. The other good thing is that 1/3 of our mortgage is to my in-laws, so paying them is a pleasure. They’re also both 89. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/25 "2005-02-08T20:54:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Zero. Just paid it off last month. 🙂 And there I was trying to remember if you could divide into zero. The problem with paying off the house, is finding out how much of the monthly payment was really insurance and taxes. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/26 "2005-02-08T22:14:29Z")
About 0.39 at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/27 "2005-02-08T23:50:41Z")
Old House before selling it: 3.7 New house when it closes (50% down): 0.8. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/28 "2005-02-09T02:38:57Z")
6.6:1 or 5.3:1, depending on how you count income. I win! :eek: But our income is waaaay down from when we bought the house in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/29 "2005-02-09T02:48:36Z")
2.2 but I am pretty proud because we live in the Boston area and bought it only three years ago. It is also worth $240,000 more than we paid (thanks to massive work on our part). ---
**Author:** ![jweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@jweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jweb)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/30 "2005-02-09T03:38:05Z")
I don’t own yet, but I hope to buy a place in about 6 months or so. I’m currently assuming my ratio will be about 3.6. Pretty high, but if I can get a roommate (I want a house I can afford without one, but the rent money would help put a dent in things) it’ll be a lot easier. Plus, if I get a fixed-rate mortgage, the ratio will go down that much more rapidly, as I assume I’ll be making more money in the future… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/31 "2005-02-09T04:59:00Z")
Another zero here. Good thing I paid it off just before losing my job! Guess I’ll retire now. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/32 "2005-02-09T13:44:06Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > 6.6:1 or 5.3:1, depending on how you count income. Wow. I had no idea that Australia had 75 year mortgages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/33 "2005-02-09T15:37:11Z")
About .4. Taxes are a lot more onerous than the mortgage payment itself. ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/34 "2005-02-09T21:21:11Z")
My Hero, Zero! Only 28 years old, and no car payments either! No, I do not deal drugs. Rancid ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/35 "2005-02-09T22:37:30Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Wow. I had no idea that Australia had 75 year mortgages. 🙂 Nah, we’re just currently paying about 50% of our income into our mortgage. Ssh, don’t tell the bank, they’ll have a heart attack 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/36 "2005-02-09T22:57:50Z")
We’re at almost exactly 2:1. We bought the house about three years ago with nothing down, and we’re planning to sell it this summer (since we’re moving). This time next year it will probably be less than 1:1, because we’re moving to a place with much lower property values, we don’t want a much bigger place, and our household income should roughly triple. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/37 "2005-02-10T00:41:57Z")
6.75 to 1. Took a 50% pay cut last year, which sorta trashed the ratio from our original plan. We originally set ourselves up a little house-heavy with a good sized fixed rate mortgage in the expectation that inflation will eat that to pennies on the dollar over the next few years. So far GWB is playing right into our hands … ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/38 "2005-02-10T03:16:05Z")
After juggling around a lot of BS relating to visa status and past illness (long story short, the government didn’t recognize my existence and the bank didn’t think I’d exist much longer), we were looking at a down payment of 40% and a mortgage:income ratio of about 1.6 (2.5 if my wife quit her job). After a bunch of wrangling, we realized we’d saved enough to just buy the damn place outright, so that’s what we’re going to do. Zero. We move in next month. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/39 "2005-02-10T04:14:55Z")
10 years, zero. You’d think I would have cable by now. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975/40 "2005-02-10T12:20:12Z")
I’m 5.12 at the moment based on after tax income. I can expect my salary to increase roughly 5 fold in 2.5 years though. Also I have a roommate who’s rent pays about a 1/3 of the mortgage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-outstanding-mortgage-balance-to-household-income-ratio/288975.md?page=3)