Nassau County has lowest proportion of income spent on housing in Florida

gavop.com
Press Release
Kevin Pryor, Analyst
Email: [email protected]
May 22, 2018 9:00 a.m.

Nassau County Residents Paid Lowest Proportion of Income Towards Homeownership Costs in Florida

NEW YORK, NY – Recent data shows that homeowners who live in Nassau County, Florida allocated 23.6 percent of their income towards housing costs in 2016. This ranks Nassau County as having the smallest proportion of income spent on housing costs in Florida.

Gavop used data collected by the United States Census Bureau to produce a study on homeowners costs as a percentage of income. The study analyzed real estate trends at the county level across the United States and found that Nassau County had a median income of $71,515 and a median housing cost of $16,860 per year for those with a mortgage. The 23.6 percent of income spent on housing costs is the proportion of income allocated to homeowner expenses including the sum of mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance, and utilities.

The percentage of income paid towards homeownership costs is a way to measure the level of debt one has to real estate expenses. Most banks use a measurement called “debt income ratios” when approving loans. In other words, it is a ratio of monthly debt payments divided by one’s gross monthly income. This analysis uses median income, home value, and median homeowner cost with a mortgage to replicate a similar debt ratio on the county level.

“In this study, we looked at annual housing costs as a percentage to gauge how much debt people owe to their living situation based on location,” said Gavop analyst Kevin Pryor. “Here, the numbers show that Nassau County residents paid under 1/4th of their income towards housing costs, resulting in a small debt to homeownership for Florida”.

Areas like Nassau County that have low percentages of income spent on housing costs are at a low risk to economic pressures. When housing costs are low, people are better equipped to withstand factors like a rise or fall in unemployment or fluctuations in the housing market. Additionally, homeowners in these areas are less likely to go into foreclosures and less likely to experience financial issues when compared to homeowners who spend a large sum of money on their homes each year.

The following data table used figures from Gavop’s analysis to show how Nassau County performed in comparison to state and national levels.

The county’s median housing cost in relation to income is less than Florida’s rate of 33.3 percent and the national level of 30.9 percent. Additionally, Nassau County’s relatively low allocation of income to housing costs is influenced by the county’s large median income of $71,515 which is $20,655 greater than the state-level value of $50,860.

In contrast, areas that have high housing costs are also the most likely to be impacted by macroeconomic strains on the economy such as recessions or unemployment. This is because residents that pay a higher percentage of income on living expenses, like mortgages, have less money left over for other expenses as well as less money to put back into the economy.

For more information please contact Kevin Pryor at (860) 406-4103 or email at [email protected]

Gavop.com is a real estate, housing, and local data analytics service. Team members research data from public sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau and private databases to produce insightful studies. Gavop’s data is aimed to serve real estate professionals and organizations so they may gain further insight into market dynamics. Data from Gavop has been published in county and city level news organizations across the U.S. with an emphasis on localized data-driven information. Gavop.com is composed of a cross-functional team of software engineers, data scientists, and analysts.

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Karen Thompson
Karen Thompson (@guest_51351)
5 years ago

Wonder how these figures would look if Amelia Island was not included.

Michael Spino
Michael Spino (@guest_51358)
5 years ago

These numbers are suspect. 2016 US Census data says county median income is $59K. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/nassaucountyflorida/PST045216