(MoneyforAgents.com) – For Americans, affording a home is more difficult than ever.
The median home price in the United States is $114,627, 15% ($15,285) more than a year earlier and more than 50% higher than when the epidemic began.
That's the most income required annually to purchase a home on record.
This is based on a comparison of the median monthly mortgage payments for August 2023 and August 2022 homebuyers conducted by Redfin.
Inflation is taken into account while analyzing the national income data. For more information on methodology, see the bottom of this report.
Housing costs are higher than ever because of the combined effects of extremely high mortgage rates and growing home prices.
In August, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.07%. Since then, mortgage rates have increased even further; in the week ending October 12, they reached 7.57%, the highest level in over 20 years.
Yet, inadequate availability drives up housing prices, even if rising mortgage rates have reduced demand.
August saw the average U.S. home sell for $420,000, up 3% from the previous year and only $12,000 below the record in mid-2022.
That represents a 20% increase from $2,395 a year earlier, and by then, payments had already increased significantly from the start of the pandemic—a period marked by meager mortgage rates and still-rising home values.
For example, in August 2020, with a median home price of $329,000 and an average mortgage rate of 2.94%, the standard monthly payment was $1,581.
To afford the average home during the period, a buyer must make $75,000 annually.
The average American household's income is around $40,000 below what it takes to purchase a home at the median price.
Approximately $75,000 was the median household income in 2022, the latest year for which yearly income statistics are available.
In 2023, hourly salaries have increased, but not quite as quickly as the income required to buy a home: the average hourly salary in the United States has risen by roughly 5% in the past year.
In the perfect environment for homebuyers, higher mortgage rates would reduce demand and drive down property prices to offset high interest costs.
However, that is not the current situation: while the number of new listings is marginally increasing, inventory is still at record low levels as homeowners hold onto their cheap mortgage rates, which is driving up prices, according to Chen Zhao, the research lead for Redfin Economics.
"Those dedicated to purchasing a property right away, especially first-time buyers, should be open-minded. A condo or townhouse is less expensive than a single-family home; alternatively, you should consider relocating to a more reasonably priced area of the nation or region," he added.
For buyers who are moving up and have all the cash, affordability is less of an issue. The first-time homebuyer is most affected by the significant increase in income required to acquire a property.
High mortgage rates have no effect on buyers who can afford to pay cash because these buyers probably make more money than is required to buy a house in the first place.
Unlike first-time homebuyers, buyers selling their present residence to purchase another are in a better position because they have probably accrued equity in their current residence, lessening the blow of skyrocketing monthly payments.
The caveat on top of the proviso is for people who purchased a home during the peak of the epidemic era with a really cheap mortgage rate and now need to sell it since they may have lost money in addition to forfeiting the low rate.
Metro-level Highlights: All major metros have seen an increase in the income required to purchase a home; Miami has seen the most significant increase, and Austin is the fewest.
The analysis covers the 100 most populated U.S. metro areas for which data is available as of August 2023.
It should be noted that increases in the annual income required to purchase a home in the metro area are not inflation-adjusted.
Metro areas where the minimum income has grown the most: The largest percentage increase among the major U.S. metros is in Miami and Newark, NJ, where purchasers must make 33% more than they did a year ago to afford the typical property.
Miami homeowners must make $143,000 yearly to afford the area's $3,580 monthly mortgage payment. Newark homeowners must make almost $160,000 to afford the $3,989 payment.
Other metros where the required income has risen by more than thirty percent: Four other major cities in the eastern part of the nation—Bridgeport, CT ($183,000); Dayton, OH ($60,000); Rochester, NY ($66,000); and Hartford, CT ($95,000)—have seen increases in the income required to purchase a median-priced home of more than 30%.
In every large metro, buyers must make more money: Every central metro area has seen an increase in the income required to purchase a home due to skyrocketing mortgage rates, even in areas where prices have dropped in the past year.
Hotspots for pandemic home purchases have seen the slightest increase in necessary income: 8% more than a year ago. Austin, Texas, homebuyers must make $126,000 to purchase the median-priced home—the slightest rise among the major U.S. metros.
This is true even though Austin real estate prices dropped 7% annually in August following a sharp increase during the pandemic due to a surge in remote workers moving there.
The next-smallest increase was in Boise, ID, another hotbed for pandemic home buying, but demand has now decreased, rising 9% to $127,000.
Following Salt Lake City, Fort Worth, Texas, and Lakeland, Florida, are gains of almost 13% year over year. Home prices have decreased from a year ago in all those metro areas.
In half of the nation's leading cities, buyers must have six figures in income: Buyers in 50 of the 100 metro areas included in this analysis must make at least $100,000 to afford the typical home in the neighborhood.
Bay Area purchasers need to make $400,000: The median price of a home in San Francisco and San Jose, California, the most expensive cities in the nation, is up around 25% year over year and requires a buyer's income of over $400,000.
The following five metro areas are in California: Oxnard ($233,000), San Diego ($241,000), Anaheim ($300,000), Oakland ($250,000), and Los Angeles ($237,000).
The lowest income requirement for Rust Belt buyers is still higher than a year ago, though: Detroit's median-priced home now costs $52,000, 19% more than a year ago for prospective buyers.
That is the lowest income in the United States needed to afford a home. Next are Little Rock, Arkansas, and three Ohio metro areas (Akron, Dayton, and Cleveland), each requiring about $60,000 in annual income to own a property.
The figures above are based on a comparison of median monthly mortgage payments in August 2023 and August 2022 by Redfin.
A monthly mortgage payment is deemed affordable when a homeowner pays no more than thirty percent of their salary for housing.
The monthly median mortgage payments are determined by considering the average mortgage interest rate and the median transaction price for that particular month and assuming the buyer placed a 20% down payment.
August 2023 saw an average mortgage rate of 7.07%, compared to August 2022's average of 5.22%. The Consumer Price Index is used in this research to correct the national income statistics for inflation.
The National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index has declined by nearly half since 2020.
With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate around 8%, the highest since 2000, home affordability is at its worst since at least 1989.
Economists say that a combination of falling interest rates, rising income, and stability to lower home prices is needed. Building more homes amid sluggish new inventory is also crucial.
2024 will be a very telling year for the housing market.
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