NPR, June 20, 2024, U.S. Home Prices Have Far Outpaced Paychecks. See What It Looks Like Where You live
Millions of Americans are already shut out of buying a home, and the cost of buying one continues to rise.
In past decades, it was common to find a house that cost roughly three times a buyer’s annual income. But that ratio has skewed sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, with home prices up a whopping 47% since early 2020. Median home sales prices last year were about five times the median household income, according to tabulations in a newly released report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, and there are signs it could get worse.
