Key Takeaways
- Redfin found that homebuyers need less income to afford a typical house in 2025 in 11 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, mostly in the Sun Belt.
- Oakland and Jacksonville had the biggest year-over-year declines, as increased supply from pandemic-era construction has driven down costs, Redfin said.
- Still, the typical U.S. home costs more than the average household can afford.
Affordable homes have become far harder to find in recent years for most Americans. Fortunately, there are a handful of places where it’s easier to afford a typical house today than it was a year ago, according to a recent analysis from Redfin.
The annual income homebuyers need to afford a median-priced house declined year-over-year in 11 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, most of which are Sun Belt cities that had housing prices skyrocket during the pandemic, Redfin found. That means if you follow the informal rule that no more than 30% of your gross income should go toward housing expenses, you can make that math work a little easier.
These aren’t necessarily the most affordable areas, but they are places where it might be a relatively good time to buy. In Oakland, for example, potential homebuyers would need a combined income of $244,073 to afford a typical home. That’s well above the national average, but it’s down almost 5% year-over-year as of June. West Palm Beach, Florida, and Jacksonville had the next-largest declines at about 4%.
Declines in the Sun Belt
A big reason for the shift is falling home prices in Sun Belt states, which had new housing construction ramp up as demand soared during the pandemic, Redfin found. Now, that increase in supply is bringing prices down.
“We’ve been in a buyer’s market for the past eight months,” Katie Shook, a Redfin Premier real estate agent in Phoenix, said. “If your home isn’t in 10/10 condition and priced at or below market value, it’s going to linger on the market. A lot of sellers are offering $10,000-$15,000 to cover the buyer’s closing costs to seal the deal. Some home features, like a landscaped backyard or pool, aren’t getting the return they used to. Buyers are no longer willing to pay a premium for those things.”
This isn’t to say buying a house is inexpensive. To afford a $447,035 home, the median price in the U.S., a buyer would need an income of $112,131 per year. That’s about $25,000 more than the typical household makes, Redfin noted—so it’s no surprise that the average household spends 39% of their income on housing, rather than the recommended 30%.
The more affordable metros overall have seen prices rise. In Detroit, the typical home requires almost 10% more income than a year ago, followed by Cleveland (8%), Newark (7%), and Chicago (7%).
The Bottom Line
While home affordability remains challenging nationwide, brighter spots are emerging in specific markets. Homebuyers in 11 major metro areas—particularly Sun Belt cities like Oakland, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach—now need less income to afford a typical home compared with a year ago, thanks to increased housing supply from pandemic-era construction cooling off previously overheated markets.