Philadelphia buyers: How many coffees must they sacrifice to afford a down payment?

How many Starbucks grande Caramel Macchiatos do homebuyers in Philadelphia need to sacrifice in order to afford a down payment?

The grande Carmel Macchiato, which costs buyers $4.45 each, also has 228 calories, so skipping their coffee fixes could help both their wallets and their waistlines. However, according to realtor.com®, to afford the average down payment in Philadelphia in five years, consumers should skip drinking three of those fancy coffees a day, and put $15.57 daily toward a down payment. To wait ten years, skip two a day, and save $7.79 per day, and consumers could be homeowners in a decade.

In Philadelphia, the average home down payment is 12.1 percent, or $28,435 of the median home price of $235,000.

“Although putting aside a cup or three of coffee per day sounds reasonable, without your coffee each day you just can’t function, so work would be a burden. The article states that the average sale price in Philly is $235,000, and the average down payment is 12.1 percent. I guess they are also forgetting the closing costs that can also be substantial,” said Philadelphia Realtor® Frank Jacovini. “But the good news is if the buyer uses an experienced Realtor®, like myself, I can get the same buyer into that home with either $8,775 inclusive of down payment and closing costs or even, in some cases, using a special mortgage program, get them in for as little as $2,600 closing costs and down payment.”

While buying a home in Philadelphia is less expensive than most other large northern cities, the cost of homes is on the rise, a trend throughout the country. According to realtor.com®, they increased nearly 22 percent in 2016, Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gillen told the Inquirer that the average home in Philadelphia has reached a new all-time high in value.

Out of the 15 cities analyzed, only Detroit and Atlanta required less of a down payment than Philadelphia, with Detroit requiring a daily savings of $13.14 for five years, and $6.57 for ten years, or three coffees and one coffee, respectively to afford the average down payment of 12 percent. Atlanta was similar to Philadelphia, requiring $14.78, or three coffees for five years or $7.39 for ten years to afford the average down payment of 10 percent.

Unsurprisingly, San Francisco required the biggest sacrifice, consumers will only be able to save for a home skipping Starbucks if they are spending $100+ a day on coffee.