Redfin Reports The Typical Household Earns Roughly $30,000 Less Than Needed to Afford the Median-Priced Home - Seite 2

Housing Affordability Remains Near Historic Lows as Housing Costs Grow Twice as Fast as Incomes

The $113,520 income needed to afford the median priced home in February was up 12% from a year earlier—the biggest annual gain since August—and still wasn’t far below October’s all-time high. It was up 39% from February 2022 and up 74% from February 2021, when mortgage rates were near their all-time low of 2.65%.

Affordability is strained today because housing costs are rising much faster than incomes. The median household income has increased 6% over the last year, half as much as the income needed to afford the median-priced home.

The median monthly housing payment for homebuyers was $2,838 in February, down from a record high of $3,012 in October but up 12% year over year.

Metros with smallest increases in income needed to afford a home

In San Antonio, homebuyers in February needed to earn 1% more than a year earlier to afford the typical home—the smallest increase among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next came Detroit (3%), Austin, TX (4%), Fort Worth, TX (5%) and San Francisco (6%).

Home prices in Texas are soft, which is why many metros in the Lone Star State are seeing relatively small gains in the income needed to afford a home. The median home sale price in San Antonio fell 4% year over year in February, making it the only major metro that posted a decline. And prices in Fort Worth and Austin were up by less than 1%, making them some of the smallest gainers in the nation.

Texas has been building more homes than any other state, which has put downward pressure on prices because it means homebuyers have more options to choose from. Housing supply in Fort Worth jumped 14% year over year in February, one of the biggest increases in the U.S. In Austin, the housing market has also lost steam because an influx of out-of-towners in recent years drove housing costs to unsustainable heights, leaving many buyers priced out.

Metros with largest increases in income needed to afford a home

In Anaheim, CA, homebuyers in February needed to earn 20% more than a year earlier to afford the typical home—the biggest jump in the nation. Next came West Palm Beach, FL (18%), Fort Lauderdale, FL (18%), New Brunswick, NJ (18%) and San Diego (17%).

These metros have seen some of the biggest jumps in home prices, which is driving up the income needed to afford a home. Anaheim, the third most expensive homebuying market in the country, saw its median sale price surge 16% year over year in February—the second largest increase in the nation. West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale ranked third and fourth, both posting price increases of 13%.