Independent Newsmedia
Arizona — and the West in general — is becoming an increasingly expensive place to finance a home, according to new data released this week.
A report out from financial website SmartAsset found most of Arizona’s counties are becoming increasingly costly to finance a home through a combination of higher median home values and higher interest rates.
Coconino County with Flagstaff at its center was deemed the most expensive in Arizona to finance a home, with a median home value of $500,300 at a 6.97% interest rate. That would result in a finance of more than $555,000 in interest on a home loan for a total cost more than $1.05 million over the life of the loan.
Maricopa County was close behind, with a median home value of $486,660 and a 6.93% interest rate resulting in total interest of $536,000 and total cost of more than $1.02 million over the life of the loan.
The report developed the information based on median home prices, interest rates and how much would be put down on a home. It estimated a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with 20% down to determine total costs with financing.
Coconino County ranked as 113th most expensive place to finance a home in the country, and Maricopa County was 118th. Nationally, median home value was listed at $292,380 with a 6.97% interest rate, resulting in a total cost of more than $607,000.
Arizona counties were not alone in being considered expensive. Many counties in the West, including multiple ones in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado were listed in the top 150 most expensive counties to finance a home out of the 3,144 counties in the country.
In Arizona, only Cochise, Navajo, Yuma and Gila counties were below the national average.
The state, like others in the West, has seen a sharp increase in housing values following the COVID-19 pandemic, with the median prices coming close to $500,000 in various areas and leaving groups from builders to policy makers scrambling to find more affordable housing for first-time buyers.
For a complete look at the map from SmartAsset, click here.