Housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level in more than 10 years, according to a national trade group. Homebuyers must earn more.
Last month, the nation’s home buyers needed to earn roughly $107,000 yearly, up from around $74,000 a year earlier, to afford a median-priced home, according to Redfin. In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the annual income required to afford a house at the median sales price of $260,000 was about $70,000 last month, up from about $50,600 in October 2021. The annual household income needed to afford median household mortgage payments mainly stayed stable for years. Still, the income threshold started rising at the start of last year, according to Redfin. Increases in home prices and mortgage interest rates have made homes less affordable.
Of the 93 urban areas that Redfin analyzed, the Philadelphia area contained one of the smallest increases in the income households need to buy a median-priced home. In about half of the 93 metro areas analyzed, home buyers needed to earn at least $100,000 to afford the standard home last month. So although Redfin found that the median sale price in the Philadelphia metro area was $260,000 in both October 2021 and October 2022, the typical monthly mortgage payment grew from $1,264 to $1,749.
To read the full article on Housing Affordability from the The Philadelphia Inquirer click here.
