Home Prices Up, Affordability Down In The Second Quarter

The national median single family home price rose 14.2 per cent during the second quarter of the year. The National Association of Realtors latest quarterly report also found that at the same time housing affordability significantly declined as monthly mortgage payments on a traditional 30-year mortgage with 20-per cent down increased by nearly a third from the first quarter of the year and by half from one year ago.

Home prices have increased at a pace that far exceeds wage gains, especially for low- and middle-income workers,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Overall, the national price deceleration inevitably followed the softening sales, providing well-positioned prospective buyers a small measure of welcomed relief.”

Regionally, the South accounted for 44% of single-family existing-home sales in the second quarter and posted the largest price appreciation of 18.2%. Prices increased 12.7% in the West, 10.1% in the Northeast, and 9.7% in the Midwest.¹

The top 10 metro areas with the largest year-over-year price gains all recorded increases greater than 25%, with seven of those markets located in Florida. Those include Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo. (31.9%); Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. (31.4%); Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. (28.9%); North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. (28.8%); Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.-N.C. (28.5%); Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (28.0%); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (27.8%); Punta Gorda, Fla. (27.4%); Ocala, Fla. (26.7%); and Ogden-Clearfield, Utah (25.5%).

The top 10 most expensive markets in the U.S., half of which were in California, included San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,900,000; 11.8%); San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. ($1,550,000; 11.9%); Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. ($1,300,000; 17.2%); Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($1,145,000; 17.3%); San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. ($965,900; 13.6%); Boulder, Colo. ($933,400; 11.8%); Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. ($850,000; 28.9%); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ($825,700; 9.2%); Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. ($818,900; 14.4%); and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. ($722,200; 8.9%).

Housing affordability dramatically tumbled in the second quarter of 2022, driven by sharply rising mortgage rates and climbing home prices. The monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment jumped to $1,841. That’s an increase of $444 – or 32% – from the first quarter of this year and $612 – or 50% – from one year ago. Families typically spent 24.3% of their income on mortgage payments, up from 18.7% the prior quarter and 16.9% one year ago.

Growing unaffordability impacted first-time buyers looking to purchase a typical home during the second quarter of 2022. For a typical starter home valued at $351,500 with a 10% down payment loan, the mortgage payment rose to $1,810 – a bounce of $433 (or 31%) from the prior quarter and $597 (or 49%) from one year ago. First-time buyers typically spent 36.8% of their family income on mortgage payments, up from 28.7% in the previous quarter. A mortgage is considered unaffordable if the monthly payment (principal and interest) amounts to over 25% of the family’s income.²

A family needed at least $100,000 to afford a 10% down payment mortgage in 53 markets, nearly double the 27 markets from the prior quarter. Yet, a family needed less than $50,000 to afford a home in 23 markets, down significantly from 63 markets in the previous quarter.