Readers suggested a topic about incomes and home prices. "I would like to see bloggers reponse on how much money you should make to afford a home that costs:"

150K

300K

500K

50K

1M

"Just to get a feeling for what kind of income does it 'really' takes to afford one of these monsters."

A reply, "The question is income growth. If you have a high income but it is not growing then you will be left behind soon until this bursts and comes back down. Only the very rich at CEO level and above have had income gains of two figures or more year after year."

Another said, "50K, 95-100K. 250-300K, 500K+ for anything above 750k. If I’m going to buy anything over about 350K, I’m going to pay cash. If I can’t pay cash, I don’t want it."

One replied, "I agree with you all the way up to 750-1M. I would think that as you get into this range, you can start to spend a larger proportion of your income on housing (as the rest of your costs do not rise proportionally to your income)? So, for example, someone making 300K a year can probably afford to spend a larger % of their income on housing then someone making 30K a year?"

"Other then that, I pretty much agree with you. 3X income seem to be your rule?"

"I have been told by several banker friends down here that qualifing at 10X income is not all that unusual anymore. That’s just amazing, I don’t understand why people would wake up and decide to throw out lending standards that have worked for 100 years. Just don’t get it."

One suggested alternatives, "Agree. IMO, one should earn about $30K per $100K mortgage up until you get to the $250K income level. At that point, one **could** go to 50% mortgage-to-income, IF they wanted to. Of course, they could also invest that money or (gasp!) give some to charity."

One suggested caution, "My income is currently very high, about $200,000, and I figure the 2 and a half times that would be $500,000 house. However my income can greatly vary. I could go back to a $90,000 annual rate in a couple weeks. With outsourcing these days and a global economy, I think there is no way people can count on their income levels to remain the same or go higher - not anymore."

"As a result, I think either the 2 and a half times rule is too high, people ought to go for short term mortgages, or people ought to save enough in government securities to save up for at least 50% of the price of a house before they take out a loan. And that’s in case they have to downsize their jobs."

"I told this to someone before and they complained: 'But what about young people who want to start families? They should have a house when they are in their 20s and cannot afford to save 50% of their incomes!' I tell them that starting a family is a free choice and not a necessity."

"It’s their own responsibility to look at the global trends and seriously consider how long they think their career and incomes will really last! Many people start families in their 30s. My buddy became a father at age 45. The point is to adjust your savings and investment for the the liklihood of downsizing your job in a global economy."

Another notes total debt load. "We are comfortable at an income of $200K-$250K with a good 20% down payment in a $700K house. Only one car payment of other debt (1.9% interest). We also have the assets to pay off most of the mortgage if we needed to."

One poster brings up taxes. "You have to balance home prices with what taxes you’re paying with that property, where you are in your life cycle, and how many people you’re responsible for, and what inheritance you’re counting on (joke, LOL)." "In many homes locally, taxes are the greater proportion of the monthly mortgage payment."

"I own a home we paid $160k for (with $5k taxes) although it was in tough shape. We’ve dumped another 30K in material cost into it but did almost all labor ourselves. Even though we put 50% down I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone making less than six figures in household income, not if you want to save money for college and retirement at the same time. BTW, we’re not big spenders either."

And one looks at the total picture. "There are so many variables. Does the person have kids? If so, how many? The income should also allow the person to fully fund retirement and save for a rainy day. I have found that most owners go 'all in' on their house. Once they own a house they don’t think they need to save for retirement or a rainy day. Their house will see them through all possible emergencies."

"The last house my wife and I had we paid less than 2.5 our annual income and I was still nervous as hell. I think a married couple with no kids should stick to 2.5 times income. A married couple with kids should really stay at 2.0 times income because they have so many potential disasters they might face."

"I think we forget personal safety nets on this blog. If a potential owner has the bank of 'mom and dad' to protect them in a bind then this figure gets skewed once again. They can be a little more aggressive."