STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The number of homes in the United States valued at $1 million or more is now at a record high. In fact, a recent report from realty company Redfin shows that 8.2% of U.S. properties (some six million homes) fall into that category – a figure that has doubled since the start of the pandemic.

So what does it take to afford the mortgage on such a costly purchase? Experts suggest an annual salary of $200,000 or more.

“The real question is how much house payment you want to take on,” Jack Kammer, vice president of mortgage lending for the nationwide mortgage company OriginPoint, recently told Fortune. “The goal would be to only use 28% of your gross or pre-tax annual income toward your house payment. In this market, that may not be a reasonable expectation.”

Kammer estimates the monthly payment for a $1 million home to be about $6,200 — that’s if you can come up with a 20% down payment and qualify for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. In order to make that scenario work, the lending expert says you would need to make between $195,000 and $210,000 annually. And if you shift the down payment from 20% to 10%, the monthly mortgage payment on a $1 million home climbs to $7,295, Kammer says. And in this case, your gross annual income would need to be $225,000 to $240,000.

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