Families Must Spend 38% of Their Income on House Payments

In another sign of America’s ongoing housing affordability crisis, the National Association of Home Builders /Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the third quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38% of their income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new home. Low-income families, defined as those earning only 50% of the median income, would have to spend 75% of their earnings to pay for the same new home. According to the NAHB, a typical family would have to pay 38% of their income for a median-priced existing home while a low-income family would need to pay 75% of their earnings to make the same mortgage payment.
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