As both home prices and mortgage rates rise, buying a home is increasingly unaffordable for a growing number of Americans.
Home prices in the first quarter were up by at least 10% from a year ago in two-thirds of the counties tracked in a new report from real estate data firm ATTOM. The decline in affordability has happened quickly. A median-priced, single-family home was less affordable than historical norms in nearly 80% of counties analyzed. That surged from just 38% of counties that were historically less affordable a year ago. The measure is now at its highest point since mid-2008, as home prices continued rising faster than wages in much of the country. Price gains outpaced wage growth in four of every five markets, the report found. The counties where wages were growing faster than home prices tended to be places with incredibly high incomes like Seattle, San Jose, California, and parts of New York City.
