The Central Coast is home to some of the least sustainable mortgage debts.
WalletHub released its 2019 Home Overleverage Report Wednesday.
The study compared the median mortgage debt to the median income and median home value in more than 2,500 U.S. cities.
McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania was number one in the nation for the highest overleverage score. The median mortgage debt was $115,499 while the median house value was $43,800, and the median income was $32,946. WalletHub says the mortgage debt-to-income ratio is 351 percent.
Each city on the list was given a Home Overleverage Score based on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the worst.
McKees Rocks received a score of 63.19.
Bell Gardens was the worst ranked California city on the list. It received an overleverage score of 60.37.
Santa Ana, Fallbrook, and East Palo Alto were all among the top 10 for least sustainable mortgage debts.
Santa Maria was ranked 12th on the list with a score of 51.26. The median mortgage debt was $248,006 while the median house value was $307,800, and the median income was $30,895. That put the mortgage debt-to-income ratio at 803 percent.
Santa Barbara was ranked 20th on the list with a score of 49.65. The median mortgage debt was $44,348 while the median house value was $927,300, and the median income was $49,689. That put the mortgage debt-to-income ratio at 894 percent.
San Luis Obispo received a significantly lower score of 37.97. However, the mortgage debt-to-income ratio was still high at 666 percent.
Atascadero was the lowest ranked Central Coast city in the study with a score of 31.58. The mortgage debt-to-income ratio was 504 percent.
Experts say 2019 seems to be friendlier toward home buyers than sellers because of lower mortgage rates, however, it’s still important that people know what they’re signing up for when they take out a mortgage.
To view the full report, click here.
