Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Mortgage payment on a typical home nearly doubled in last 4 years, report finds

Mar 1, 2024
According to real estate firm Zillow, the typical buyer pays $2,188 monthly — well above the 30% of median income guideline used to calculate housing affordability.
Homeownership now costs well over the 30% of median income that was once thought to equate to “affordable” housing in the U.S.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Profits from sales of median-price homes fell slightly last year, but are still pretty huge

Jan 25, 2024
People who sold a median-price home last year made more than $120,000 in profit on a typical sale, according to a new report out today from the property data company ATTOM.
High home sale profits might be a sign that the market is starting to normalize.
George Rose/Getty Images

Homeowners are gaining equity, but it may be going untapped

Jul 31, 2023
A new report finds the rate of mortgage borrowers considered "equity rich" increased to 49% in the second quarter.
"Why would you refinance if you've got a mortgage of 3%, at a mortgage rate of 7%?" says Susan Wachter of the Wharton School.
Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images

Homeowner groups are trying to stop investors from buying up homes

Apr 20, 2022
Investor purchases made up more than 1 in 5 home sales in December, according to CoreLogic.
According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes dropped 2.7% in March from the previous month and 4.5% from March 2021.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As unemployment skyrockets, so do mortgage loan delinquencies

May 21, 2020
April saw the biggest one-month jump in U.S. home loan delinquencies ever.
More than 3.8 million mortgage holders, 7.3% of all home loans, have already entered into forbearance plans as of April 30.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Homeowners stay put, keeping inventory low

Oct 24, 2019
The average homeownership tenure has more than doubled, to about eight years.
People are staying in their homes longer than they used to. Above, a real estate agent gives a tour of a house.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Labor shortages and high cost of materials depress homebuilding, industry says

Jul 18, 2018
Builders are looking into long-term solutions.
A worker saws wood at Canal Crossing, a new luxury apartment community consisting of 393 rental units near the university city of New Haven on August 2, 2017 in Hamden, Connecticut. 
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Bond remains strong between Puerto Rican evacuees and those who stayed

Dec 22, 2017
Families, now divided between the mainland and the island, start new endeavors and try to preserve old ties.
Wireless internet at an extended-stay FEMA hotel in Orlando is the main way the Hernandezes keep in touch with family still in Puerto Rico.
Renata Sago/Marketplace

Tax changes could have big effect on housing

Dec 19, 2017
The tax advantages of home ownership would likely be available to wealthier taxpayers, and high tax regions would take the biggest hit.
A bicyclist rides by a row of homes in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images