If you found the U.S. housing market impossible this year you were not alone. In fact, you were in the vast majority, according to a new analysis by the real estate group Redfin.
Just 15.5% of homes for sale were affordable for a typical U.S. household, the lowest share since Redfin started tracking this a decade ago. A home is deemed affordable if the estimated mortgage payment is no more than 30% of the average local monthly income.
Affordability plunged 40% from before the pandemic, and 21% from just last year. Redfin says spiking mortgage rates were a key reason why.
