Redfin: Housing Affordability Improved a Bit in 2024

(Image courtesy of Redfin; Breakout image courtesy of Tina Nord/pexels.com)

Redfin, Seattle, released an analysis of 2024 affordability trends, finding that there was a slight improvement in housing affordability, although it was still the second-least-affordable year on record.

A household earning the median U.S. income would have to spend 41.8% of their earnings on monthly housing costs on the typical home. That’s down narrowly from 42.2% in 2022.

However, that’s well above 2022’s 39% and 2021’s 31.4%. From 2013-2020, the metric hovered between 27%-32%.

“Affordability improved ever so slightly this year because wage growth outpaced the growth in monthly housing payments,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “But that’s not to say buying a home became affordable. For many Americans, buying a home remains more out of reach than ever and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Even with inventory trending upwards, we still expect prices to continue rising in 2025 due to a lack of homes for sale–pushing more would-be homebuyers to rent instead.”

A homebuyer in 2024 would need to earn an annual income of at least $116,782 if they wanted to spend no more than 30% of their earnings on monthly housing payments for the median-priced home–$33,000 more than the typical household makes in a year.

The median monthly housing payment for homebuyers in 2024 hit a record of $2,920, up 4.3% from 2023 and 86% from 2019.

The metro area that saw the biggest improvement in affordability was Austin, where a household making the $103,717 median income there would have to spend 39.6% if they bought a median-priced home, down from 42.8% in 2023.

Texas dominated the list of improved affordability, with San Antonio at No. 2, Dallas at No. 3 and Fort Worth at No. 4. Portland, Ore., rounded out the top five areas in terms of improved affordability.

The metro area that saw the largest drop in affordability was Anaheim, Calif., where a household making the median $121,925 income there would have had to spend 75.9% of their earnings on monthly housing costs if they bought the median priced home–up from 71.8%.

Also seeing worsened affordability were Chicago, Miami, Newark, N.J., and San Jose, Calif.

The overall least affordable major metro was Los Angeles, where someone making the median income would have had to spend 77.6% on their monthly housing costs for a median-priced home.