If you thought buying a new car was expensive, you aren't wrong.
But compare that to buying a new home, and it may suddenly make the average consumer feel like he or she is way out of their depth.
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You wouldn't be wrong if you said almost everything feels more expensive this month.
In fact, most recent data from the September Consumer Price Index indicates everything from food to gasoline to new cars went up compared to one year ago. Here's a breakdown of what some of the most recent data points look like:
- Food: increase 3.7% year-over-year
- Gasoline: increase 3% year-over-year
- Transportation services: increase 9.1% year-over-year
- New vehicles: increase 2.5%. year-over-year
- Shelter: increase 7.2% year-over-year
- Apparel: increase 2.3% year-over-year
Combine price increases with consistent rate hikes, and you're in for a very expensive mortgage, if you aren't paying in cash for your new home. The average fixed mortgage rate sits at 8.085% — a high in recent years. Compare these rates to where they were in January 2021, where many rates sat at around 2.65%, and home buying has gotten very pricey indeed.
A recent study by housing-market-data aggregator Attom breaks down just how expensive it is to buy a home right now:
- On average, at least 35% of average wages are required for home ownership expenses (highest level since 2007)
- Most lending standards require 28% debt-to-income; 35% is considered "unaffordable"
- In 2021, this metric stood at just 21%
- The nationwide median home price is $351,250
- Median home prices in 574 of the 578 counties studied in Q3 are less affordable than in years past (up from 552 counties in Q3 2022)
There are, however, still plenty of folks clamoring to snap up some of the priciest real estate in town. The pandemic created a new billionaire every 30 hours, and these people need somewhere to sink their money.
Top 11 most expensive zip codes
A new report by Property Shark released the 10 most expensive zip codes in the U.S., and, unsurprisingly, many of them were clustered together, typically surrounding metropolitan hubs associated with money, banking, tech, and culture.
They are:
- Atherton, Calif. (94027): Median home sale price in 2023: $8,300,000
- Sagaponack, N.Y. (11962): Median home sale price in 2023: $8,075,000
- Miami Beach, Fla. (33109): Median home sale price in 2023: $5,500,000
- Santa Barbara, Calif. (93108): Median home sale price in 2023: $5,000,000
- Beverly Hills, Calif. (90210): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,800,000
- Stinson Beach, Calif. (94970): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,500,000 (tie)
- Water Mill, N.Y. (11976): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,500,000 (tie)
- Newport Beach, Calif. (92661): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,495,000
- Santa Monica, Calif. (90402): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,489,000
- Medina, Wash. (98039): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,388,000
- Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (92067): Median home sale price in 2023: $4,248,000
Perhaps unsurprisingly, California — the U.S.'s most populous state — nabbed seven total spots out of the 11 listed here. Most of these zip codes are clustered around southern California, outside of Los Angeles and San Diego. Two are notably in northern California, closer to tech hub San Francisco.
Notable, however, Miami has moved into the top three spot. Amazon AMZN founder Jeff Bezos recently purchased a $79 million property in the pricey enclave of Indian Creek just outside of Miami and has announced his intention to make Miami his permanent home.
