That’s nearly double the household income of $56,800 needed to afford a new home in 2019. Just 36% of US households earned enough to afford a new home, compared to 59% in Q3 2019. A shortage of homes in the US, combined with increased demand, helped create intense competition, leading to skyrocketing home prices in cities across America. A major contributor to the home affordability crisis: rising mortgage rates. Mortgage rates, which are the interest rates a lender charges on a home loan, ballooned in 2022 and 2023 as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to combat inflation.

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Persons: That’s, Louis, ” Barbara Denham Organizations: CNN, Oxford Economics, Midwest, Oxford, Federal Reserve Locations: America, San Jose , California, California, San Francisco , Los Angeles, San Diego, Cleveland , Louisville, Detroit, St, Florida , Arizona, South Carolina