Homes "unaffordable" in 99 percent of nation for average American

You will own nothing and like it... isn't that the mantra we keep hearing?

I know I couldn't afford a median home right now, hell don't know a lot of people who could. That cost is crazy high, hell I couldn't afford the first home we purchased in 1991, and it's rundown as hell now.

www.cbsnews.com...

That's the main takeaway from a new report from real estate data provider ATTOM. Researchers examined the median home prices last year for roughly 575 U.S. counties and found that home prices in 99% of those areas are beyond the reach of the average income earner, who makes $71,214 a year, according to ATTOM..

Housing experts point to couple trends driving up housing costs. Mortgage rates have topped 7%, adding hundreds of dollars per month to a potential house payment. At the same time, homeowners who locked in at lower mortgage rates during the pandemic have opted not to sell out of fear of having to buy another property at today's elevated rates, depleting the supply of homes for sale.

"The only people who are selling right now are people who really need to move because of a life event — divorce, marriage, new baby, new job, etc.," Daryl Fairweather, chief economist of Redfin, told CBS MoneyWatch. "That lack of new inventory is keeping prices high."

ATTOM defined "unaffordable" as someone who must devote more than 28% of their income toward paying for a particular home. Factoring in a mortgage payment, homeowners insurance and property taxes, the typical home priced today would require 35% of someone's annual wages, ATTOM said.

a reply to: putnam6

In 2018 I saw that homes were for sale in a very nice neighborhood for around $250k.
Now, a mobile home , or something that looks similar, in the middle of nowhere cost the same!
It's outragious and not sustainable.

I'm hoping there will be a housing market bubble burst, because living in a nice/safe neighbourhood is now unaffordable.
Off course with any housing price burst, property taxes (that are tied to the value of the home) never go down only up

a reply to: putnam6

I didn’t want to buy with the hyperinflation and crazy stupid interest rates. Was forced to rent a home for $4150 a month to stay in my town. Two years ago that would have got me a mansion with a pool on acreage. Today it got me 1800 sq ft with no garage.

a reply to: putnam6

I can't find it right now. However there was an article about how New Zealand was facing the same issues.

The fix was to simply rezone areas from single family homes to allow either townhomes or duplexes.

after they did this home prices went down. Home prices have sky rocketed stupidly. What should be a 200k home is now 400k in Miami. And I don't see any relief in sight.

a reply to: putnam6

How can the majority of homes be unaffordable and still be selling?

The definition of unaffordable means you can't buy one.

Hell, I looked at my first home we purchased in 1991 for $127,000 is now a dilapidated mess in a crime-ridden crappy neighborhood and it's priced at $335,000

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: putnam6

How can the majority of homes be unaffordable and still be selling?

The definition of unaffordable means you can't buy one.

I'll have to look up but some real estate firm here bought 1/5 of the homes in a massive metro area not too long ago.

www.bloomberg.com...

Sales of previously owned US homes declined in August to the lowest since the start of the year, restrained by limited inventory and historically high mortgage rates.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: putnam6

How can the majority of homes be unaffordable and still be selling?

The definition of unaffordable means you can't buy one.

People are over extending themselves. There is another 2008 crash on the horizon, but worse this time. That’s what they want and mean by “You will own nothing and be happy”. The banks aren’t going to sell them after they get repossessed this go around.

I would love to sell my house and buy something smaller.

But they haven't built small homes in decades. All they build is condos and mcmansions.

I want something else!

as the us has the better standard of living and higher wages this can be applied across most of the west where conditinos are worse.

a reply to: putnam6

I bought my home in 1987 for 90K. I looked on Zillow the other day and its showing 423K . My home is paid off, but if I was starting out again, I couldnt afford payments on 423K.

originally posted by: CoyoteAngels
I would love to sell my house and buy something smaller.

But they haven't built small homes in decades. All they build is condos and mcmansions.

I want something else!

i would never buy new as they are all rabbit hutches, the newest i have is the one I'm in now built in the 1930s, actually all the ones I've had have brought range from the 1890s to 1930s, I must like the style though this one has no ghosts come to think of it, i really miss the ghost cats from my last home..

a reply to: putnam6
In my little patch in the UK, the biggest problem has been wages not increasing as fast as property prices have increased.

In 1995, I bought my first house, I could borrow up to 3 times my annual salary of £12000 as a low grade civil servant, so £36000, but I had to have 5 percent deposit saved myself.
I paid £34000 for the property, but sold it 6 years later for £92000, hardly any improvements, just basic maintenance and painting. My salary had only increased to £14000.

Fast forward to 2022, the same house, almost exactly the same as I sold it (including same lovely tiled fireplace I built myself lol) it was sold for £340,000.
The exact same civil service job, last year, was paying £24,000, needing a mortgage which is 14 times the salary to buy that house now!😱

a reply to: putnam6

Bought my first, and current, house in 2012 for $128k US. I retired on a pension in 2018.


The house next door to me just went up for sale this last weekend. It is about 100sqft smaller than mine, but has a spa and a built-in BBQ in the backyard. Asking price is $439k US.


As soon as Social Security kicks in (about a year from now), I plan to do me some renovatin'!

I'm not sure if I buy this. I work in mortgage industry.

Metro areas are expensive, but salaries also tend to be a lot higher as well. Most homeowners in these areas are often dual income, not singles. So comparing national average income of a single person to the home price in metro areas is a bit misleading.

An income of $71,000 should afford someone the ability to buy a home of about $250k. Rule of thumb is basically 3 to 4x's gross income depending on the other debts like car payments and student loans.

High rates have certainly put a damper on the market though and definitely making things more expensive.

a reply to: carewemust

People aren’t buying them. They are being bought by banks to be held & sold to other banks like stocks. It’s whack.

originally posted by: KKLOCO

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: putnam6

How can the majority of homes be unaffordable and still be selling?

The definition of unaffordable means you can't buy one.

People are over extending themselves. There is another 2008 crash on the horizon, but worse this time. That’s what they want and mean by “You will own nothing and be happy”. The banks aren’t going to sell them after they get repossessed this go around.

I almost hope there is another housing crash.

I was able to buy my current home due to the extended aftereffects of the 2008 crash. Another crash might allow me to pick up 2nd property as an income property to augment my pension and social security.

"Money, money, money....!"

originally posted by: Ohanka
a reply to: carewemust

People aren’t buying them. They are being bought by banks to be held & sold to other banks like stocks. It’s whack.

But I see people moving into the new houses as they're finished, and into renovated homes. Almost no home is sitting empty...not for long.

The sales trend in my area is slowing, due to Bidenomics, but he's phucking up everything everywhere.

Not a "crisis" yet, however: www.redfin.com...

a reply to: nickyw

Sounds lovely. Older homes all have a unique character.

I only lived in an old house for a brief time in college. It was haunted. As was the detached MIL quarters in the back, even worse. The place was a bargain, but they couldn't keep it rented.

My house and I are the same age. Both getting old and started falling apart. Both of us have had alot of maintenance but so far, are keeping up.

I've remodeled so it has a unique vibe at this point. Escaped prisoners hid here before I bought it, according to a neighbor when I first arrived but nobody ever died or seemed too attached to it. I've lived in it longer than anyone else at this point. Going on 40 years. A mile from an unheard of beach, a beautiful greenbelt spring, down at the end of the block that winds it way to the pier and water.

About 6 years ago, we sold the big house (2400sq ft) and bought a small house (900 sq ft) with a little land. The house was just a shell, but we put a good bit of money and time into it and it's very nice now. We bought it for almost nothing (50K) and put in cash rather than borrow to fix it up. In the last few years, many people have asked me if I want to sell it, as this type of living is much more sustainable, but we really like it and love the privacy and space. I have a 250 yard range behind the house to shoot and hunt, we put in an above ground pool and built a large deck around it all. It's a very cheap paradise. I wish I would have done this years ago, but we needed space for all those damn kids.

My son is about to be done with his military service and wants to buy a house. I'm not seeing anything in this area he would or could buy for less than $275k. And there is a LOT of rural areas here. Times have changed, and I think there will be another housing snafu similar to 2008. I just hope I'm on the good side of it this time.