Let’s dive into the affordability of median-priced homes in US metro areas.
- 2024 Affordability:
- More than 90% of metro markets (205 out of 221, or 93%) saw home price gains in the first quarter of 2024.
- The 30-year fixed mortgage rate ranged from 6.60% to 6.94% during this period.
- Thirty percent of the tracked metro areas experienced double-digit price gains, up from 15% in Q4 2023.
- To comfortably afford the median-priced home (currently around $332,494), first-time buyers need a household income of $119,769.
- Regional Variation:
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, stands out with an exceptionally high median new home price of $1,685,593, requiring a minimum household income of $487,773.
- However, the median home is affordable for median earners in only four states and six of the 50 largest metro areas.
- Affordable Cities:
- Forbes identified the Motor City (Detroit) as the most affordable place to buy a home. Despite having a lower median salary, home prices are also lower there.
In nearly half of all metro areas in the US, buyers must make more than $100,000 to afford a median-priced home, per NPR.
In 2021, that was the case in only 11% of markets.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) June 28, 2024
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