Erie homebuyers are working with a $155,000 median price point, 63% below the national figure. Against the $44,000 median household income in the area, that's a 3.5x multiple.
Factor in $226/month for property tax in Erie, based on the area's 1.75% effective rate applied to the median home price. That's $2,713 annually.
Pennsylvania levies a state income tax on top of the $1,099/month this mortgage runs. Model your real after-tax take-home before deciding how much payment you can carry.
Erie's cost of living index is 82, below the 100 national baseline. That's on top of the housing numbers above, not instead of them.
Erie's median home price runs 42% lower than nearby Philadelphia: $265,000 there versus $155,000 here.