Redfin Reports There Were Half as Many Affordable Homes for Sale in 2022 as There Were in 2021 - Seite 2

Marr continued: “The good news is that housing affordability should improve. Mortgage rates will eventually come down as the Fed makes progress fighting inflation, and home prices have already begun falling. Incomes are also growing faster than the historical norm.”

The Biden Administration recently announced that it’s cutting mortgage-insurance rates for homebuyers who take out loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The move is estimated to save roughly 850,000 homebuyers, many of whom are low-income and/or first-time buyers, an average of $800 per year. It goes into effect March 20.

Some states, including California and Oregon, have also passed legislation that allows for the construction of more starter homes. Increased supply could help limit home-price growth over time. If executed well, these new laws could serve as a blueprint for other areas grappling with housing shortages.

White Households Can Afford Three Times as Many Homes as Black Households

Only 9% of homes for sale last year were affordable for the typical Black household, compared with 28% for the typical white household and the lowest share of any race in this analysis. The share was nearly as low for Hispanic/Latino households (14%) and was highest for Asian households (34%).

Affordability has also fallen slightly faster for Black households than for white households. The share of listings affordable for the typical Black household was cut in half (9% in 2022 vs 18% in 2021), while the share affordable for the typical white household fell by less than half (28% vs 50%).

The number of listings affordable for the typical Black household dropped a record 57% in 2022 from the year before—a larger decline than any other race in this analysis—while the number of listings affordable for the typical white household fell a record 49%. Hispanic/Latino and Asian households also experienced record declines in the number of listings affordable.

“Housing has become incredibly unaffordable for a lot of Americans, but Black families have been hit especially hard because they’re often less wealthy to begin with,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “On average, Black Americans earn less money, have less generational wealth, and have lower credit scores (and sometimes no credit scores at all) than white Americans. That makes it tougher to afford a down payment and qualify for a low mortgage rate. They also frequently face racial bias during the homebuying process.”