Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[Robert from yahoo bd]

Todays NYT: "Just 16 percent of homes listed in 2023 were affordable for the typical American household.

The year ended disappointingly for many American home buyers — fewer than 16 percent of homes for sale in 2023 were affordable to local median earners, according to a study by Redfin. That’s the lowest rate since at least 2013, the year Redfin began tracking prices, when 50 percent of homes were affordable to local median earners. In 2019, before the pandemic, 40 percent of listed homes were affordable. In 2022, only 21 percent were.

For the study, researchers defined “affordability” as housing that costs no more than 30 percent of income. They assumed a relatively low down payment of 5 percent, a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage with the interest rate current to the month the home entered the market, plus homeowners insurance and private mortgage insurance. Prices and incomes in the 97 most populous U.S. metro areas were examined for the study."