Buying a home is part of the American Dream, but it seems it’s getting further out of reach for many Americans. According to a new report from Oxford Economics, a household now needs an average annual income of $107,700 to afford a single-family home in most U.S. cities.
That includes property taxes and insurance, but it’s still nearly twice as much as the amount was five years ago. Back in 2019, people only needed to earn $56,800 to be able to afford a single family home. At that time, 59% of households could afford it, but the report finds only 36% of households earned enough to afford to buy a home last quarter.
“Housing affordability has dropped significantly over the last five years in every major metro as house prices soared and mortgage rates nearly doubled,” the report concludes.
- It finds that the least affordable cities for buying a home include four in California: San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, as well as Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Less than 15% of households could afford a single-family home in those cities.
- The most affordable cities in the study are Decatur, Illinois; Cumberland, Maryland; Youngstown, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; and Elmira, New York.
- Nearly two-thirds of households in those cities could afford single-family homes.
Source: NY Post
Scott's Thoughts:
- So, how many side hustles will that take?
- The US is quickly becoming just another country where families of 2 to 3 generations live in the same home. The economy sucks.
- I'm too old for roommates.