Miami’s housing market may be tilting toward buyers, but the path to actually buying a first home still looks like a long shot for many South Florida families.

Could Miami’s affordability problem be less about asking prices and more about how far local workers have to stretch to save?

A new study by Neighbors Bank of Florida’s cost of living breaks down where Florida’s home-buying math hits goals and where Miami still gets the red card.

Among the highlights:

• Miami (with a median family income of $92,591) is the least attainable Florida metro for a typical family, with a savings timeline of 40+ years.

• Miami has a shorter entry-level home price than Orlando, at $256,204 versus $265,335, but Miami’s typical-family savings timeline is much longer at 40+ years versus 7.4 years.

• In Miami, workers in 4 of the 7 analyzed occupations need 40+ years to save a 3% down payment.

• Florida contains both relatively attainable and highly out-of-reach markets, with typical family savings timelines ranging from 10 months in Jacksonville to 40+ years in Miami.

• Miami’s family affordability problem is not driven by the largest down payment requirement among Florida metros, because Miami’s $7,686 down payment is actually lower than Orlando’s $7,960.

The report notes that the path to home ownership varies, depending on income and location, of course.

“For many workers and families, a down payment is achievable within months,” the report notes. “For others, it may take longer, but that doesn’t mean home ownership is out of reach.”

This study measures the time it takes to save for a 3% down payment, not the traditional 20%. A 3% down payment is one of the lowest conventional options available to many first-time buyers through loan programs backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, subject to credit approval and program eligibility requirements.

“We used 3% to show that home ownership can be far more attainable than the 20% benchmark many people assume they need,” the report explains.

One word of caution: the down payment isn’t the only upfront cost. Closing costs add typically 3% to 6% of the loan amount.

Methodology: This study estimates how long it would take to save for a home down payment, both for a single worker in seven occupations and for a typical family (two or more related persons), across the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. Drawing exclusively from publicly available federal and industry datasets, it compares local wages and incomes against local home prices, rents, and living costs to show where buying a home is within reach and where it isn’t.

Occupations analyzed: Seven occupations were selected to represent common, widely held jobs: elementary school teachers, registered nurses, police and sheriff’s patrol officers, office and administrative support workers, construction laborers, waiters and waitresses, and retail salespersons.

To read the full study, click here.