Tag Archives: Housing Affordability

Affordability is worst in fast growing cities that have fallen behind in building homes to keep up with population growth. Currently the average U.S. homebuyer can expect to spend 15.3 percent of their monthly income on a mortgage payment.

Using home price data from CoreLogic, NAHB estimated that 62.8 percent of homes sold at the national median price in Q4 were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $63,900. That figure was up 1 percentage point from the third quarter.

Thirty-one percent of homebuyers living in the state were able to afford a median-priced existing single-family home last quarter, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said Thursday. While that was a slight improvement from 30 percent in Q3, it was down from a revised 32 percent in 2013's closing months, the group reported.

Late last year, real estate firm Zillow reported that renters living in the United States paid a cumulative $441 billion in rents throughout 2014, a nearly 5 percent annual increase spurred by rising numbers of renters and climbing prices. Results from a more recent survey conducted by Zillow and Pulsenomics suggest that rent prices will continue to be a problem for the aspiring homeowner for years to come.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Friday that sales of pre-owned homes rose 2.4 percent month-over-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million. It was the sixth time in the past seven months in which existing-home sales topped an annual rate of 5 million.

Looking at trends in incomes, home values, and rental prices in the third quarter, Zillow estimates that U.S. homeowners spend on average 15.3 percent of their income on monthly mortgage payments. For younger homebuyers, who typically make smaller down payments, that figure is only slightly higher: 17.4 percent.

Out of 475 U.S. counties analyzed in the company's latest real estate report, 98—21 percent—had a higher affordability percentage than their historical average. In addition, 58 counties—12 percent of all markets analyzed—posted a median price higher than their bubble-era peaks as values continue to rise.

In his 2015 outlook, Zillow's chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, predicts millennials will take on a much greater presence in the housing market, overtaking Generation X as the largest group of homebuyers.

In its latest market update, Zillow reported that the number of for-sale homes nationwide rose 15.8 percent year-over-year in October. While the increase may be welcome news for home shoppers in some of the country's most supply-starved metros, the number comes with a catch: The biggest gains were seen in the highest price tier of homes.

Looking at economic and housing market indicators in the second quarter, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company (Arch MI) says the odds of a decline in home prices in the next two years on the national level are 13 percent, down from 15 percent in the company's summer estimate.