Mortgage rates and stagnant wage growth are keeping home ownership difficult for most buyers despite slight price relief.
Rates have held steady above 6.7% while paychecks grew just 0.45% annually, leaving families unable to afford the monthly payment. Home prices have edged down but not enough to offset the income and rate squeeze.
Mortgage rates vs home prices since 2021.
The rate sets your monthly payment. Price growth tells you whether waiting costs you.
What changed
Rates have held steady above 6.7% while paychecks grew just 0.45% annually, leaving families unable to afford the monthly payment. Home prices have edged down but not enough to offset the income and rate squeeze.
What it means for you
If you are trying to buy a house, your paycheck is not keeping pace with what lenders charge to borrow, and prices are not falling fast enough to help. This matters because it locks millions out of building wealth through ownership and forces renters to keep paying landlords instead. Watch whether real disposable income starts to move higher consistently—that is the only lever that can ease the affordability crisis without rates falling.
What to watch next.
Latest housing analysis.
Written after each data release. Plain English, no jargon.
Quick answers.
The questions people actually ask about the housing market, answered from the data above.