ATTOM’s just released Q2 2022 U.S. Home Affordability Report shows that median-priced single-family homes and condos were less affordable in Q2 2022, compared to historical averages in 97 percent of U.S. counties. The report noted that figure was up from 69 percent in Q2 2021, to the highest point since 2007 – just before the housing market crashed during the Great Recession of the late 2000s.

According to ATTOM’s latest home affordability analysis, the portion of average wages required for major home-ownership expenses nationwide rose in Q2 2022 to 31.5 percent, as the median price of a single-family home hit a new high of $349,000 and 30-year mortgage rates shot up above 5 percent. The report noted the percentage of average wages consumed by those expenses rose at the fastest quarterly and annual pace since at least 2000.

The report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet major monthly home ownership expenses — including mortgage, property taxes and insurance — on a median-priced single-family home, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 28 percent maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. That required income was then compared to annualized average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

ATTOM’s Q2 2022 home affordability report also showed that major ownership costs on median-priced single-family homes and condos in the second quarter required more than 28 percent of the average $67,587 wage in the U.S. That level of 31.5 percent stood at the highest point since Q2 2007 and is up from 26 percent in Q1 2022 and 23.9 percent in Q2 2021 – marking the largest jumps since at least 2000.

According to the report, in Q2 2022 U.S. counties that required the largest percentage of wages were Santa Cruz County, CA (116 percent of annualized weekly wages needed to buy a home); Marin County, CA (outside San Francisco) (109.6 percent); Kings County (Brooklyn), NY (102.9 percent); Maui County, HI (92 percent) and San Luis Obispo County, CA (88.2 percent).

The report also noted that aside from Kings County, NY, counties with a population of at least 1 million where major ownership expenses typically consumed more than 28 percent of average local wages in Q2 2022 included Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (82.1 percent); Alameda County (Oakland), CA (77.2 percent); Queens County, NY (72.5 percent) and Riverside County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (67.6 percent).

The latest ATTOM analysis also showed that median single-family home and condo prices in the second quarter were up by at least 10 percent over Q2 2021 in 65 percent of the counties with a population of at least 100,000 and 50 single-family home and condo sales in Q2 2022.

ATTOM’s Q2 2022 home affordability report noted that among the 47 counties included in the analysis with a population of at least 1 million, the biggest year-over-year gains in median sales prices in Q2 2022 were in Collin County (Plano), TX (up 28 percent); Hillsborough County (Tampa), FL (up 27 percent); Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ (up 25 percent); Clark County (Las Vegas), NV (up 24 percent) and Salt Lake County (Salt Lake City), UT (up 24 percent).

The report stated that counties with a population of at least 1 million where median prices increased the least or decreased, year-over-year, in Q2 2022 were Oakland County, MI (outside Detroit) (down 2 percent); Honolulu County, HI (up 4 percent); Bronx County, NY (up 5 percent); Cook County (Chicago), IL (up 5 percent) and Kings County (Brooklyn), NY (up 6 percent).

In this post, we dive deeper into the data behind the ATTOM Q2 2022 home affordability analysis to unveil the complete list of the top 10 counties with a population of at least 1 million that saw the biggest year-over-year gains in median sales prices in Q2 2022. Those rounding out the top 10 include: New York County, NY (23 percent); Pima County, AZ (23 percent); Wake County, NC (22 percent); Palm Beach County, FL (22 percent); and Travis County, TX (21 percent).

Want to learn more about home affordability in your area? Contact us to find out how!

The post Top 10 U.S. Counties with Greatest Annual Median Home Price Gains in Q2 2022 appeared first on ATTOM.