Study: Florida homebuyers among most financially stretched in US

Florida ranks among the top 10 most stretched states when it comes to the financial pressure of taking out a loan to buy a home, according to a new study.

Kind House Buyers, a real estate company based in Washington state, analyzed the gap between how much people make and the size of the loans they are taking out to buy homes. Using 2024 home purchase loan data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and median household income figures from U.S. Census data, the firm found Florida homebuyers are No. 7 in the nation when it comes to the gap between income and home loan amounts.

The study found that Hawaii is the state where home loans most exceed household income, representing a 716% gap. According to the analysis, the average home loan there is $801,934, while the median income is $98,240, meaning it would take 8.2 years’ worth of income to make the home purchase.

Florida came in No. 7 on the list of most-stretched markets for homebuyers, with a median income of $75,630 and an average home loan of $383,323, representing a 407% gap. It would take 5.1 years’ worth of income to buy a home in the Sunshine State, according to the study.

These are the top 10 states where home loans most exceed household income, based on the analysis:

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. New York
4. Washington
5. North Carolina
6. Nevada
7. Florida
8. Montana
9. Massachusetts
10. Idaho

The lowest average home loan was in Mississippi, where it is $195,462. However, the study’s authors note that the median household income in that state is $55,980, so there is still a 249% gap between income and home loan amount.

Iowa is the state where income is most aligned with home loans, based on the analysis, which shows Midwestern states have the least financial stretch. In Iowa, the median household income is $85,480, and the average home loan is $219,677, representing a 157% gap.

“While buyers in every state take on loans exceeding their annual income," a spokesperson for Kind House Buyers says in a statement, "the gap between the highest and lowest states shows that geography plays a defining role in how far families must stretch to own a home."