ATTOM Says Home Affordability Stayed Under Pressure as Mortgage Rates Climbed

IRVINE, Calif. – ATTOM, a provider of property data, AI-powered intelligence and real estate analytics, has released its latest U.S. Home Affordability Report, finding that homes were less affordable than historical norms in 98% of counties with enough data for analysis in the third quarter.

Across 570 of the 583 counties reviewed, the main monthly costs for median-priced single-family homes and condos were above their long-term averages.

Although the national median home sales price was 1% lower than in the previous quarter and 2% lower than a year earlier, mortgage costs remained elevated. By the end of the quarter, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 7.3% and the 15-year fixed rate at 6.6%, both nearing levels last seen in 2023, while the consumer price index continued rising during the quarter.

“Affordability remained a challenge in the third quarter, even as some of the underlying factors moved in a favorable direction,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “Home prices declined nationally and wage growth outpaced price growth in many counties, but those gains were not enough to meaningfully improve affordability across much of the country.”

ATTOM measures affordability for average wage earners by estimating the income needed to cover major monthly housing costs, including mortgage payments, mortgage insurance, property taxes and homeowner’s insurance, on a median-priced single-family home or condo. The calculation assumes a 20% down payment and a 28% maximum front-end debt-to-income ratio, then compares that income requirement with annualized average weekly wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 80.1% of the counties analyzed, or 467 out of 583, monthly housing costs were higher than the typical county resident’s wages.

Other key findings in the report include:

• The national median home sales price was $368,000, down from $370,000 in the previous quarter and $375,000 a year earlier.
• Monthly ownership costs on a nationally median-priced home would have used 31.8% of the typical worker’s wages. In 30.9% of the counties analyzed, or 180 of 583, those costs would have taken up more than 43% of the typical resident’s wages, a level viewed as seriously unaffordable.