Homeownership is receding further out of reach for most Americans as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices stretch the limits of what buyers can afford.

A homebuyer now needs to earn at least $114,000 a year to afford a $431,250 home – the national median listing price in April, according to data released Thursday by Realtor.com

The analysis assumes that a homebuyer will make a 20% down payment, finance the rest of the purchase with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, and that the buyer’s housing costs won’t exceed 30% of their gross monthly income — an often-used barometer of housing affordability.

Based off the latest U.S. median home listing price, homebuyers need to earn $47,000 more a year to afford a home than they would have just six years ago. Back then, the median U.S. home listing price was $314,950, and the average rate on a 30-year mortgage hovered around 4.1%. This week, the rate averaged 6.76%.

  • @[email protected]
    9•14 days ago

    Where are you in the US that plumbers and construction get paid less than most fast food places? I’m in a red and rural area and plumbers here are pulling in 90-100k starting and construction is starting around $25 an hour now. Trade skills make money.

    • Verdant BananaEnglish
      1•14 days ago

      where are you? travel all over the US

      the owners make bank maybe but not the plumbers hired on to alleviate the workload

      • @[email protected]
        5•14 days ago

        I’m in the south, and I have friends who work for these companies and even run their own. There is a difference if you’re not licensed though, but even then they’re not making just $15 or less an hour.

        • Verdant BananaEnglish
          1•14 days ago

          agree but those people talking about are probably over 40

          younger people licensed or not are being shafted when it comes to pay and treated like expendables

          one of those plumbers know eventually gave up plumbing and he was damn good

      • @[email protected]English
        1•14 days ago

        I have several friends who are electricians / carpenters / roofers / contractors. They all tend to work about 6 months out of the year, make bank, and then spend the winter travelling. They could work more if they wanted to, but they just don’t want to, and know they can pick up work basically anytime they want. One electrician friend of mine lives in a small town and is working on forming his own business (which would employ only him), and expects that he will out-earn his wife, who is a physician’s assistant, if he chose to work full time.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•14 days ago

      I’m in a red and rural area and plumbers here are pulling in 90-100k starting

      If accurate, I would say that that is probably not very reflective of the national situation.

      https://www.servicetitan.com/blog/plumber-salary

      For entry-level plumbers, the median annual base salary is $52,000, or $25 per hour.

      For intermediate plumbers with 2-4 years of experience, the national average rises to $67,600, or $32.50 per hour.

      At the senior level, defined as 4-6 years of experience, the average is $73,200, or $35.19 per hour.

      There’s also a per-state breakdown, which doesn’t show dramatic variation.