Home Affordability Drops to New Lows in the 100 Largest U.S. Counties

As mortgage rates jump to new highs and the housing market gets tighter, home affordability is becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially for first-time buyers. According to Point2, Gen Z buyers can’t afford the median home in any of the largest U.S. counties, but Baby Boomers aren’t that far behind. Even older buyers backed by previous homeownership wealth can’t afford the median-priced home in 89 counties, and prices are still rising.

The highest-value home that Gen Z buyers could afford was $561,074, in San Francisco County, California, but that price point is far out of reach for the majority of first-timers. The lowest-value home within Gen Z’s budget was $100,397 in El Paso, Texas.

From as much as $1 million to a little more than $40,000, the price difference between the median home and the home that Gen Zers can actually afford opens a not-so-metaphorical precipice between young people and their homeownership dreams. Clearly, young professionals who want to buy property need to look far and wide (and settle for smaller homes) because the results are clear: Gen Z can’t afford the median home in any of the 100 largest counties.

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