US EditionAmerica's House-Poor Metros: Where Mortgage Owners Stretch the 30% Rule
The average home price is $435,000, requiring $113,000 annual income to afford, while median household income is near $84,000, highlighting a nationwide housing shortage.
- Updated on: December 8, 2025, Bankrate's analysis found more than 75% of U.S. homes are unaffordable for the typical household, with the average home costing $435,000 under a 30%-of-income rule.
- Supply-Side constraints such as permits and taxes, along with investor purchases, have driven high home prices amid a nationwide shortage of affordable housing and a 4.7 million-unit gap, Zillow reported.
- Bankrate's numbers show buyers need $113,000 annually to afford a $435,000 home, yet median household income is nearly $84,000, and Alex Gailey said `Only a sliver of the housing market is affordable to the typical household`.
- First-Time buyer metrics show the first-time homeowner rate fell to a historic low of 21% with the median age of homebuyers at 40, while overall homeownership slipped to about 65% in 2025 and Black families’ rate dropped to 43.9%.
- Mortgage forecasts suggest mortgage rates will fall from 6.6% to 6.3% next year, while parts of the South and West see more construction due to tax incentives and looser permitting.
41 Articles
41 Articles
A study by Bankrate that more than 70% of current homes on the market cannot be purchased by the average of households in the US.
Report Shows 75% Of US Homes Are Unaffordable For Average Buyer
Source: skynesher / Getty It’s become increasingly apparent that the U.S. economy simply isn’t working for the average American by nearly every metric that matters. Homeownership, long seen as a sign of economic advancement and essential to building wealth, has become out of reach for more and more people. A recent report found that 75% of homes are unaffordable for the average American buyer. According to CBS News, Bankrate’s report defines an …
BLK ALERTS - Report Shows 75% Of US Homes Are Unaffordable For Average Buyer
Source: skynesher / Getty It’s become increasingly apparent that the U.S. economy simply isn’t working for the average American by nearly every metric that matters. Homeownership, long seen as a sign of economic advancement and essential to building wealth, has become out of reach for more and more people. A recent report found that 75% of homes are unaffordable for the average American buyer. According to CBS News, Bankrate’s report defines an …
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