The 5 Most and 5 Least Affordable US Housing Markets

Housing affordability during Q4 2023 was near its lowest level in more than a decade and remained virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), NAHB's Eye On Housing reports. Just 37.7% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of October and the end of December were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $96,300—nearly identical to Q3 2023 (37.4%), the lowest reading since NAHB began consistently tracking affordability in 2012.

The HOI shows that the national median home price was $375,000 in the fourth quarter, down from $388,000 in the third quarter. Meanwhile, average mortgage rates increased more than 30 basis points from 7.13% in the third quarter up to 7.44% in the fourth quarter—the highest rate in the HOI series history.

The top five most affordable major housing markets in the fourth quarter of 2023 were:

1. Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.
2. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
3. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.
4. Dayton-Kettering, Ohio
5. Akron, Ohio

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