Housing affordability has reached another low

In the second quarter of the year, there was a decrease in affordable prices throughout the country, when the increase in prices raised the salary needed to buy a house, according to a new report.

Major home ownership expenses in the last quarter now require about 33% of a family's monthly income, the report by national property data provider ATTOM showed.

Homes were less affordable in 98 percent of counties with data for analysis compared to historical averages. This is the highest debt-to-income ratio since 2007.

Buyers had to earn $75,000 a year to afford the typical home in half of the markets ATTOM analyzed.

After three quarters of declines, the median value of single-family homes rose 10% from the first quarter to $350,000 — the biggest increase in more than a decade, the firm found.

"The housing market in the US has undergone a transformation following a recession that threatened to develop a prolonged period of fixed prices or falling prices. With this came another blow to how much house the average worker across the country can afford," ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement.

"Whether this is just a temporary glitch in this year's peak buying season or a sign of another prolonged increase in prices is anyone's guess," Barber continued. "But all the predictions of market death were clearly premature, and house hunters are feeling the pinch."

Home prices fell in the back half of 2022 amid the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation that pushed mortgage rates above 7 percent in November.

The mortgage interest has since moderated but has stabilized in recent months above 6 percent.

Last week, the average 30-year fixed rate rose slightly to 6.71%, according to Freddie Mac.

"Mortgage rates have hovered in the 6 percent to 7 percent range for more than six months, and despite the possible headwinds, home buyers have adjusted and driven new home sales to their highest level in more than a year," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. said last week.

New home sales jumped 12.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 units. Sales were 20% higher than a year ago.

"New home sales have rebounded more strongly than the resale market because of a greater marginal supply of new construction," Khater continued. "The improvement in demand led to the strengthening of prices, which have now risen for several months in a row."