How Much You Need To Make To Afford The Average U.S. Home
A homebuyer would need to earn nearly $115-thousand a year ($114,627) to be able to afford the cost of the typical U.S. home, according to Newsweek and new research from Redfin. The real estate company notes that income is up 15% from last year and up more than 50% since the start of the pandemic. It’s now the highest annual income needed to afford a home on record.
“In a homebuyer’s ideal world, rising mortgage rates would push demand and home prices down enough to make up for high interest payments,” explains Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “But that’s not what’s happening now: Although new listings are ticking up slightly, inventory is still near record lows as homeowners hang onto their low mortgage rates—and that’s propping up prices.”
The Redfin research reveals:
- Mortgage rates have reached their highest level in more than two decades, as of yesterday the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 8%.
- The typical U.S. homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment is $2,866, which is an all-time high.
- That’s a 20% increase from a year ago and substantially higher than in August 2020, when the typical mortgage payment was $1,581 based on a median home price of $329-thousand. At that point, a homebuyer would only have needed to earn $75-thousand a year to afford the typical home.
- The typical American household income was about $75-thousand in 2022, which is about $40-thousand less than the income needed to buy a median-priced home.
According to Zillow’s latest data, as of September 30th, the average U.S. home value is $348,539
This North Carolina City Is Building The 2nd Most New Homes Nationwide
8. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC
Charlotte ranks number 8 on this list with 23.9 new housing units authorized per existing 1,000 homes. In 2022 the Charlotte Metro Area built 27,212 new homes. The median home price in the region is $369,590.
7. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
The median home price in Orlando is $388,191. In 2022 28,638 new homes were constructed. And 25.7 new housing units were authorized per 1,000 existing homes.
6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Coming in at number 6 with a whopping 77,894 new housing units authorized in 2022 is the Dallas region. There were 25.8 new units authorized per 1,000 existing homes. And the median price? $376,026.
5. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugarland, TX
Staying in Texas to crack the top 5 with the Houston Metro. A much lower median home price of just $306,423. 75,728 new housing units were approved with is 66.8 per 1,000 existing units.
4. Jacksonville, FL
Our second Florida city on this list is Jacksonville with a median home price of $355,024. There were 32.6 new housing units approved per 1,000 existing which comes to a total of 23,169.
3. Nashville- Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN
Coming in at number three is a city that’s growth has seemed to parallel Charlotte’s a lot. Nashville has one of the highest median home prices at $436,866. 28,192 new units were authorized in 2022, which is 32.8 per 1,000 existing,
2. Raleigh-Cary, NC
If it wasn’t Charlotte, well you knew it had to be our state’s capital city. The median home price in this area is surprisingly higher than Charlotte at $433,469. 36.2 new units were approved in 2022 per 1,000 existing which equated to 21,568 new units.
1. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX
And Austin Texas takes the title with 42,364 new homes approved which is 42.5 per 1,000 existing. These homes will run buyers a median price of $487,537. Is it too late to get involved in the Austin real estate market?
Small/Median Carolina Metros- Where They Ranked
Small Metros
- Wilmington, NC ranked 8th with 29.9 units per 1,000 existing
- Burlington, NC ranked 15th with 25.9 units per 1,000 existing
Median Metros
- Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach,SC ranked 3rd with 39.5 units per existing
- Charleston-North Charleston, SC ranked 13th with 25.2 units per existing
- Durham-Chapel Hill ranked 15th with 22.1 units per existing
