U.S. Needs More Than 300k More Mid-Tier Homes To Meet Demand
Middle-income buyers—classified as households earning up to $75,000— were once strong homebuying candidates with income to spare. Just five years ago, this group could afford to buy half of all available homes on the market.
Now, they can afford just 23% of listings, according to an analysis from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Realtor.com. The housing market needs about 320,000 mid-tier listings to make up for demand.
Middle-income buyers can on average afford a home valued up to $256,000, but very few are available. Among the 100 biggest metros, El Paso, Boise, and Spokane, WA, have the fewest affordable homes for this group. Ohio leads the way with the most, in Youngstown, Akron, and Toledo.
“Middle-income buyers face…