According to a report just released by HSH, St Louis is the 8th most affordable metro area to buy a home in and one of just 17 metro areas where an income of less than $50,000 per year will buy a median-priced home. The report is based upon data from the 1st quarter of this year when the median-priced home in the St Louis MSA was $162,400 (a 4.84% increase from a year ago) and the average mortgage interest rate was 4.41% (an increase of 0.36% from the previous quarter) resulting in a house payment (principal and interest portion only) of $933.44. Depending upon the loan type and credit-worthiness of buyer, it will vary, but under typical circumstances, a person with an annual salary of about $40,000 would qualify for the house payment on a median-priced home in St Louis.