Majority of US Home Listings Are Unaffordable

An end-of-year report from real-estate brokerage firm Redfin confirms what many around the country have been saying all year: most Americans could not afford to purchase homes in 2023.

“An analysis of listings in 97 of the most populous metropolitan areas in the country found that just 15.5% of homes for sale in 2023 were affordable for the typical U.S. household. That's a decrease from last year, when Redfin found that 21% of homes listed for sale were affordable for the typical buyer,” reported Aliza Chasan of CBS News.

Redfin defines affordability as a mortgage payment of 30 percent or less of the average monthly income residents in the local county.

Their data reflects findings from the National Association of Realtors, released earlier this year, that that middle-income households with annual earnings of up to $75,000 can afford only 23 percent of the homes listed for sale in the U.S.

The report indicates that high mortgage interest rates are likely to blame; to avoid paying a rate of 7 percent or higher on a new home, fewer homeowners have listed their properties. “Slim inventory means that buyers are competing for a limited pool of housing, driving prices upward,” writes Chasan.

But signs are hopeful for 2024. According to Realtor.com, housing inventory rose 7.5 percent year-over-year in November, and Freddie Mac said mortgage rates are slowly dropping below 7 percent for the first time in more than four months.