How far can it go....

Housing prices are declining. Certainly not everywhere, and certainly not as much as some places, but if you were to take the median income and compare it to the median home price, it might give us an idea of how far home prices have gotten out of whack.

I took 33% of the median income and calculated a monthly payment based on 6% interest. Using that information, I calculated a price for a home. Compare that number to the median price where you live and you can determine if prices need to crash, decline, remain the same, or can increase further. In some cases, even if the local median is higher, you have to consider local issues and still, prices might be able to rise if incomes in the area are rising above average.

Real estate is local, local, local and every market has its good places, bad places and average places. Your mileage may vary, but places like California with prices hundreds of thousands above where they 'should' be, expect prices to decline.

Here is the list:

State	Median income	Estimated home price possible for the median income	Monthly Payment
United States	48,023	220,270	1,321
Alabama	38,160	175,031	1,049
Alaska	57,071	261,771	1,569
Arizona	36,693	214,170	1,284
Arkansas	37,458	171,812	1,030
California	54,385	249,452	1,496
Colorado	53,900	247,227	1,482
Connecticut	60,551	277,733	1,665
Delaware	52,676	241,613	1,449
District of Columbia	47,473	217,748	1,306
Florida	45,038	206,580	1,239
Georgia	48,388	221,945	1,331
Hawaii	61,005	279,816	1,678
Idaho	45,919	210,619	1,263
Illinois	49,328	226,256	1,357
Indiana	44,618	204,653	1,227
Iowa	48,075	220,509	1,322
Kansas	44,478	204,011	1,223
Kentucky	38,694	177,481	1,064
Louisiana	37,472	171,875	1,030
Maine	45,503	208,711	1,251
Maryland	63,082	289,343	1,735
Massachusetts	56,592	259,574	1,556
Michigan	48,043	220,362	1,321
Minnesota	56,102	257,328	1,543
Mississippi	34,343	157,523	944
Missouri	44,487	204,051	1,223
Montana	39,821	182,650	1,095
Nebraska	48,820	223,926	1,343
Nevada	51,036	234,090	1,403
New Hampshire	60,411	277,091	1,661
New Jersey	66,752	306,176	1,836
New Mexico	40,126	184,050	1,103
New York	48,472	222,330	1,333
North Carolina	41,616	190,883	1,144
North Dakota	42,311	194,070	1,164
Ohio	45,776	209,964	1,259
Oklahoma	38,859	178,237	1,069
Oregon	46,349	212,593	1,275
Pennsylvania	48,148	220,844	1,324
Rhode Island	52,421	240,443	1,442
South Carolina	40,583	186,144	1,116
South Dakota	44,996	206,386	1,237
Tennessee	40,696	186,663	1,119
Texas	43,044	197,433	1,184
Utah	55,619	255,111	1,530
Vermont	52,174	239,311	1,435
Virginia	55,368	253,960	1,523
Washington	53,515	245,461	1,472
West Virginia	38,029	174,431	1,046
Wisconsin	48,903	224,306	1,345
Wyoming	46,613	213,803	1,282