The millennial generation, those born between 1981 and 1996, have recently dominated the demand side of the housing market. However, Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, is on the cusp of aging into their prime home-buying years. While potential first-time home buyers, mostly millennials and older Gen Zers, jumped on the historically ... Read More ›

National housing affordability has broadly declined compared with one year ago, especially for potential first-time home buyers. The median renter, who can also be considered the median first-time home buyer, could afford 34 percent of the homes for sale nationally in the first quarter of 2023, down from 45 percent a year earlier. The decline is ... Read More ›

As mortgage rates have steadily risen, affordability has decreased significantly for home buyers across income levels. However, affordability for the potential first-time home buyer – those currently renting – has faced the most pressure. Nationally, affordability for potential first-time home buyers declined 19 percentage points in June 2022 ... Read More ›

Following two years of red-hot activity accelerated by pandemic-era dynamics, the housing market is cooling as demand falls in response to a significant decline in affordability. Double-digit house-price appreciation chipped away at affordability as the pandemic-driven supply and demand imbalance fueled competition for a limited inventory of homes ... Read More ›

In August 2021, our analysis found that owning a home was cheaper than renting in all 50 of the top U.S. markets, largely due to the ownership benefit of house price appreciation. Given house price appreciation nationally was historically strong in 2021, it’s unsurprising that owning a home made more financial sense than renting last year. Looking ... Read More ›

Affordability in the U.S. fell in 2021 on a year-over-year basis, as house-buying power was unable to keep up with red-hot nominal house price growth. The decline in affordability was broad based as affordability fell in most major markets across the U.S., yet some markets remain more affordable than others for potential first-time home buyers. ... Read More ›