Key Points: House-buying power enters the 2026 spring home-buying season above the national median list price for the first time in more than three years. In December 2025, house-buying power reached $417,000 at the national level, a five percent surplus above the national median list price of $396,000. While still below pre-pandemic norms, the ... Read More ›

Key Points: In this coastal affordability matchup, stronger supply helps Seattle overcome Boston. Stronger permitting, fuller inventory, and slower price growth give Seattle the supply‑side advantage, widening buyer choice and giving purchasers more leverage. Median home prices increased by 0.4 percent in Seattle, less than half of Boston’s 0.9 ... Read More ›

Key Points: After a delayed start, younger generations are gaining ground in homeownership, driven by rising earnings, maturing careers, and the decision to form families. Millennials are accelerating purchases in their thirties, matching Gen X by their early forties and positioned to modestly surpass them as incomes grow and family formation ... Read More ›

Key Points: Boomers and Generation X dominate homeownership today, but as they age out, tens of millions of family homes will become available. Millennials and Generation Z—followed by Generations Alpha and Beta—will soak up that supply by forming households first and shifting into ownership later as they mature, sustaining demand for decades. The ... Read More ›

Key Points: Affordability depends heavily on location. Regional differences in prices, taxes, and utility costs lead to wide disparities in how much of one’s income is spent on housing. High home prices—particularly in Western markets—drive up mortgage and tax costs, leading to some of the highest cost burden rates in the country. High income ... Read More ›

Key Points: Housing cost burdens reached a new peak in 2023, with 16.9 million homeowners spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing—the highest level in over a decade. Nearly 60% of the increase in newly burdened homeowners since 2019 came from those spending over half their income on housing—showing that affordability challenges ... Read More ›