In a sign that high housing prices are here to stay, the average American can’t afford the average American house. In over 70% of counties in the US, median home prices are more expensive than the average wage earner can afford. And with home prices having risen 9% year-on-year, that lack of affordability looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Two-thirds of US home markets require people to spend more than 30 percent of their income to purchase a house, a sum that’s generally considered the upper limit for affordability. And in most areas of the country, home price appreciation is outpacing income growth. That makes it less and less likely that millennials and younger generations of workers will ever be able to afford to purchase their own home.
To read more about home affordability in the US, read the ATTOM home affordability report here.