Home ownership further out of reach a rising prices, high mortgage rates
widen affordability gap
[May 02, 2025] By
ALEX VEIGA
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home ownership 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%.
The annual income required to afford a median-priced U.S. home first
crossed into the six figures in May 2022 and hasn't dropped below that
level since. Median household income was about $80,600 annually in 2023,
according to the U.S. Census bureau.
In several metro areas, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York
and Boston, the annual income needed to afford a median-priced home tops
$200,000. In San Jose, it's more than $370,000.
Rock-bottom mortgage rates turbocharged the housing market during the
pandemic, fueling bidding wars for homes that pushed up sale prices
sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars above a seller initial asking
price. U.S. home prices soared more than 50% between 2019 and 2024.
The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when
mortgage rates began to climb from their pandemic-era lows. Sales of
previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in
nearly 30 years. In March, they posted their largest monthly drop since
November 2022.
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A housing development in Cranberry Township, Pa., is shown on March
29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
 It's not all bad news for
prospective homebuyers.
Home prices are rising much more slowly than during the pandemic
housing market frenzy. The national median sales price of a
previously occupied U.S. home rose 2.7% in March from a year earlier
to $403,700, an all-time high for March, but the smallest annual
increase since August.
In April, the median price of a home listed for sale rose only 0.3%
from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.
Buyers who can afford current mortgage rates have a wider selection
of properties now than a year ago.
Active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market
except those pending a finalized sale — surged 30.6% last month from
a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. Home listings jumped
between 67.6% and 70.1% in San Diego, San Jose and Washington D.C.
As properties take longer to sell, more sellers are reducing their
asking price. Some 18% of listings had their price reduced last
month, according to Realtor.com.
“Sellers are becoming more flexible on pricing, underscored by the
price reductions we’re seeing, and while higher mortgage rates are
certainly weighing on demand, the silver lining is that the market
is starting to rebalance,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at
Realtor.com. "This could create opportunities for buyers who are
prepared.”
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