36M Households Can't Afford a Median-Priced Home, Reports NAHB

Washington, DC, March 16, 2022-Rising home prices and interest rates can negatively affect housing affordability, as shown in recent NAHB reports related to its 2022 Priced-Out Estimates. However, a large portion of the roughly 69% of U.S. households that can’t afford a new median-priced home aren’t even able to afford a home that costs a fraction of that price.

Based on the fact that the sum of mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners and private mortgage insurance premiums should be no more than 28% of the household income, the minimum income required to purchase a $150,000 home is $36,074. In 2022, about 36 million U.S. households are estimated to have incomes at or below that threshold. Another 24.4 million can only afford a home priced between $150,000 and $250,000.