ATTOM: Affordability Edges Up, but Remains Challenging

(Image courtesy of ATTOM; Breakout image courtesy of Erik Mclean/pexels.com)

ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., released its third-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Affordability report, showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos are less affordable in Q3 2024 than historical averages in 99% of counties with sufficient data to analyze.

Major expenses on median-priced homes consume 33.5% of the average national wage of $73,164, an improvement over the second quarter, but flat from last year.

Specifically, the portion of average local wages consumed by major expenses on median-priced single-family homes and condos has dropped to $2,045, down 3.3% from Q2.

There’s been a pattern, since early 2022, of home ownership requiring large portions of wages, ATTOM said. There was a low point reached in early 2021–21.3% of the average annual national wage–right before home prices shot up.

“Home affordability continues to show signs of easing, which lightens the pressure on house hunters struggling to find a place that fits their budget,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “The cost of owning a home across much of the nation remains a tough go for average workers, exceeding levels preferred by banks and other lenders. But it is at least tracking in the right direction. That’s mainly because of declining interest rates.”

Year-over-year price changes have outpaced changes in weekly annualized wages during Q3 2024 in 71.1% of the 578 counties analyzed.