A new housing industry report shows home affordability worsened in the second quarter. The report from ATTOM, a curator of land, property and real estate data, shows that median-priced single-family homes and condos remained less affordable in the second quarter of 2024 compared to historical averages in 99 percent of counties around the nation.
The report also shows that major expenses on median-priced homes consumed 35.1% of the average national wage in the second quarter – marking the high point since 2007 and standing well above the common 28% lending guideline.
The reason is two-fold: record high home prices and mortgage rates around 7%.
“Mortgage rates increased this week, coming in just under seven percent,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Both new home and pending home sales are down, causing active listings to rise. We are still expecting rates to moderately decrease in the second half of the year and given additional inventory, price growth should temper, boding well for interested homebuyers.”
Latest rates
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.95% as of July 3, up from last week when it averaged 6.86%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.81%.
The 15-year FRM averaged 6.25%, up from last week when it averaged 6.16%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.24%.