Data Finds Most Buyers Can Afford Median-Priced Homes

Despite home prices rising 15.6% year-over-year, new data from ATTOM Data Solutions found the majority of buyers can still afford a median-priced home. Median home prices were more affordable than historical averages in 52% of counties during the first quarter of 2021, according to The Washington Post. The median price of a home now rests at $370,000, according to data from Realtor.com and the number of homes on the market is 52% lower than March 2020. Home price increases depend greatly on location, though, with some areas only seeing 1% price increases and others experiencing nearly 40% jumps.

Median listing prices were up 39.8 percent in Austin, up 28.3 percent in Buffalo and up 24.8 percent in Los Angeles compared with March 2020. Median listing prices were up 10.5 percent in the New York City metro area, but up just 1 percent in the D.C. metro area in March compared with the same time last year.

Analysis of first quarter 2021 numbers by ATTOM Data Solutions found that areas where the median priced home is affordable to the average local wage earner is shrinking but remains barely the majority at 52 percent. During the first quarter of 2020, homes were more affordable than historic averages in 63 percent of counties. Five years ago, during the first quarter of 2016, homes were more affordable than the historic average in 95 counties.

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