The US housing market has changed dramatically since the pandemic - an issue looming over the election.

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The median home sale price in the US has jumped by nearly 30% since the end of 2019, hitting $420,000 this spring.

At a time of rising property values globally, the leap has been one of the most dramatic in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

And that’s not factoring in the added costs from higher interest rates, which now stand at roughly 7% for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that is typical in the US, up from about 3% in 2020.

Homebuyers today need an annual income of more than $100,000 - well above the country’s household median of about $75,000 - to comfortably afford a home in most places in the US, research firms such as Zillow and Bankrate say, and face monthly payments that have roughly doubled in just four years.

  • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    6 months ago

    I’d love to own. Problem is, I did the math recently. Mortgage payments on a house in my area start at more than double what I’m paying for rent. And that’s only the mortgage, not PMI or or tax or home maintenance costs.

    To be fair, I live in a relatively HCoL area (just outside Boston). But owning is still wildly more expensive than renting.

    It might work if I was married and we had two nice incomes. But I’ve also priced it out with a multi-bedroom house and renting out the other rooms. I’d have to charge rent above market rate just to break even. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

    • Ejh3k@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      I’m not denying that I got very lucky with my timing. But also I chose a very low cost of living area.