Housing prices have risen so much faster than wages in Maryland that the average home is out of reach of the average worker — and, in many cases, even two-earner families. A first-time home buyer would have to spend 71 percent of his or her income to cover the monthly payments, and a two-worker household with average salaries would spend 35 percent — still more than the 30 percent maximum traditionally recommended by the financial industry.

“The U.S. is being divided into the affordable regions and nonaffordable regions,” said Lawrence Yun, an economist at the National Association of Realtors. “If someone were to do a similar analysis in, say, the California markets or Florida markets, one would find it’s basically impossible to buy a home for those who don’t currently have home equity to work with. … In the middle part of the country, … anyone with a job can pretty much enter the market.”

Read (Baltimore Sun)