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| Todd Teta |
IRVINE,
CA — ATTOM Data Solutions,
curator of the nation’s premier property database and first property data
provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), released its first-quarter 2020 U.S. Home
Affordability Report, which shows that median home prices in the first quarter
of 2020 are unaffordable for average wage earners in 319 of 483, or 66 percent
of the U.S. counties analyzed in the report.
But that figure is down from 70.4 percent in
the fourth quarter of 2019 and 69.8 percent from the first quarter of 2019.
The
report also shows that owning a median-priced home in the first quarter of 2020
in the United States – costing $252,500 – consumes 31.1 percent of the national
average wage.
That
percentage is down from 31.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 31.6
percent in the first quarter of 2019, to the lowest percentage since the fourth
quarter of 2017, when the average workers were spending 30.8 percent of wages
to own a home.
The
report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the
amount of income needed to make monthly house payments — including mortgage,
property taxes and insurance — on a median-priced home, assuming a 3 percent
down payment and a 28 percent maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio.
That
required income was then compared to annualized average weekly wage data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Home
affordability has inched ahead this year across the United States as buying a
house or a condo gets closer and closer to the level where the average wage
earner can swing the deal within standard lending guidelines," said
Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions.
"While the national median price still
remains a bit out of reach for the average wage earner, the affordability
gap has narrowed to the smallest point in more than two years.
“It
seems bizarre that median home prices have risen 8 percent over the past 12
years while average wages grew by less than half that amount.
"But
falling interest rates continue making up the difference, dropping monthly home
ownership payments in a majority of the country.”
“All
that may change in a huge way over the next few months as the impact of the
coronavirus hits the housing market. We are entering a period of great
uncertainty.
“But in the initial months of the year, the
picture has appeared to continue to brighten for home seekers.”
For
a detailed analysis on a county-by-county level, please contact:
Christine
Stricker
949.748.8428
Data
and Report Licensing:
949.502.8313
