Homeownership is receding further out of reach for most Americans as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices stretch the limits of what buyers can afford.

A homebuyer now needs to earn at least $114,000 a year to afford a $431,250 home – the national median listing price in April, according to data released Thursday by Realtor.com

The analysis assumes that a homebuyer will make a 20% down payment, finance the rest of the purchase with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, and that the buyer’s housing costs won’t exceed 30% of their gross monthly income — an often-used barometer of housing affordability.

Based off the latest U.S. median home listing price, homebuyers need to earn $47,000 more a year to afford a home than they would have just six years ago. Back then, the median U.S. home listing price was $314,950, and the average rate on a 30-year mortgage hovered around 4.1%. This week, the rate averaged 6.76%.

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.worldEnglish
    63·
    3 days ago

    in the US more affordable options are priced or regulated out of existence such as trailers and with gentrification even the cheapest housing would not be covered under most jobs including teacher salaries

    plumbers and other construction workers even with experience may only get $15 hour or less and that is common here too

    another trend popping up here is no living in hotels with the max being 30 days total in a year

    and homelessness is illegal in a lot of places here as well so the end goal has to be more slave prison labor and a better controlled population

    • SupraMario@lemmy.world
      91·
      3 days ago

      Where are you in the US that plumbers and construction get paid less than most fast food places? I’m in a red and rural area and plumbers here are pulling in 90-100k starting and construction is starting around $25 an hour now. Trade skills make money.

      • talEnglish
        1·
        3 days ago

        I’m in a red and rural area and plumbers here are pulling in 90-100k starting

        If accurate, I would say that that is probably not very reflective of the national situation.

        https://www.servicetitan.com/blog/plumber-salary

        For entry-level plumbers, the median annual base salary is $52,000, or $25 per hour.

        For intermediate plumbers with 2-4 years of experience, the national average rises to $67,600, or $32.50 per hour.

        At the senior level, defined as 4-6 years of experience, the average is $73,200, or $35.19 per hour.

        There’s also a per-state breakdown, which doesn’t show dramatic variation.

      • Verdant Banana@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        3 days ago

        where are you? travel all over the US

        the owners make bank maybe but not the plumbers hired on to alleviate the workload

        • SupraMario@lemmy.world
          51·
          3 days ago

          I’m in the south, and I have friends who work for these companies and even run their own. There is a difference if you’re not licensed though, but even then they’re not making just $15 or less an hour.

          • Verdant Banana@lemmy.worldEnglish
            12·
            3 days ago

            agree but those people talking about are probably over 40

            younger people licensed or not are being shafted when it comes to pay and treated like expendables

            one of those plumbers know eventually gave up plumbing and he was damn good

        • blarghly@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          3 days ago

          I have several friends who are electricians / carpenters / roofers / contractors. They all tend to work about 6 months out of the year, make bank, and then spend the winter travelling. They could work more if they wanted to, but they just don’t want to, and know they can pick up work basically anytime they want. One electrician friend of mine lives in a small town and is working on forming his own business (which would employ only him), and expects that he will out-earn his wife, who is a physician’s assistant, if he chose to work full time.