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%.

  • 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.