The typical US home now costs a record $440,660 — and many Americans can't keep up. Here's how some buyers are adapting
The typical US home now costs a record $440,660 — and many Americans can't keep up. Here's how some buyers are adapting.
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The dream of homeownership continues to drift further out of reach for many Americans.
The median price of an existing U.S. home reached a record $440,660 in June, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors (1) (NAR), marking the 36th consecutive month of year-over-year price growth.
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The latest milestone comes as a bipartisan housing affordability bill remains in political limbo, delaying reforms designed to boost housing supply and improve affordability.
While the annual increase was a relatively modest 1.8%, economists say home prices continue to outpace wage growth, keeping pressure on prospective buyers.
"Housing affordability remains low under slowing wage growth and stronger home price growth," Ershang Liang, an economist with PNC Economics Research, said in a recent report cited by CBS News (2).
The latest figures highlight how difficult the housing market remains for first-time buyers.
NAR reported the median price for an existing single-family home climbed to $446,400 in June, while condominiums and co-ops reached $380,000.
Although mortgage rates have eased somewhat (3) from their 2023 highs, elevated borrowing costs combined with years of home-price appreciation continue to stretch household budgets.
According to LendingTree (4), fewer than four in 10 households that don't already own a home can afford a typical starter home priced around $200,000. Separate research from Redfin (5) found households now need an annual income of roughly $117,000 to comfortably afford the average home, based on April 2026 data.
"Without a doubt, affordability is a major challenge for people who want to become homeowners, which is the reason why we need more supply," Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, told the Associated Press (6).
The housing market has remained sluggish since mortgage rates began climbing in 2022. Existing-home sales have hovered near multi-decade lows, even as NAR reported (7) modest year-over-year gains in recent months.
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At the time the housing data was released, lawmakers were awaiting the fate of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (8), which became law without President Donald Trump's signature (9) after the 10-day constitutional review period expired.
The bipartisan legislation would attempt to address several factors contributing to high housing costs by reducing regulatory barriers to construction, encouraging zoning reforms, expanding homebuilding and limiting institutional investors' ability to purchase single-family homes.