"Rising Income Requirements: Affording a Home in Nearly Half of US States"

A recent report by financial services firm Bankrate found that 22 states and Washington, DC, now require buyers to have a six-figure income to afford a median-priced home, up from just six states in 2020. California, Hawaii, DC, Massachusetts, and Washington state require the highest incomes to buy a typical home, while Montana saw the largest increase in income needed at 77.7%. Mortgage rates have also surged since the pandemic, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate at 6.79% as of Thursday, nearly double what it was four years ago. Additionally, a report from Realtor.com found that it's currently cheaper to rent a home than to buy one in the top 50 metro areas by a significant margin.