Baby Boomers and Their Cash Drive the Housing Market
The monthly S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller housing market index showed price increases for February, March and April relative of the median United States home sale price at $436,800, which is significantly higher than the $329,000 average price seen in the quarter just before late winter 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
“The ongoing recovery in home prices is broadly based,” Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said in a release.
According to NBC News, with affordability at near-record lows and inventory still very limited, many buyers, especially first timers, will continue to find the market challenging for the foreseeable future, experts say.
Mortgage interest rates now hover around 7%. As a result, the median monthly payment (principal and interest) a home buyer can now expect to pay is nearly $2,000, according to the National Association of Realtors — almost double the 2020 figure.
Buyers need to earn more money, too. An income of about $95,000 per year is needed to qualify for a 30-year mortgage with a 20% down payment (the NAR’s calculations are based on a slightly lower estimate of the current median home value).
