Home prices are 47 percent higher than what they were in early 2020, and the median price of sale is five times higher than the median income, according to a new analysis from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Prices for houses hit another record in April, despite the fact that the supply of homes has increased and mortgage rates have risen still higher. In any normal era, these factors would cause prices to fall, but in this unprecedented moment they refuse to budge.
According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, home prices rose 6.3 percent in April compared with where they were that same month in 2023. That is the second month in a row that the national index spiked at least one percent over its record high.
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“2024 is closely tracking the strong start observed last year, where March and April posted the largest rise seen prior to a slowdown in the summer and fall,” said the head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P 500 Dow Jones Indices. “Heading into summer, the market is at an all-time high, once again testing its resilience against the historically more active time of the year.”
Rent costs are still 26 percent higher than where they were in 2020, and are rising in three out of every five regional markets, in spite of the slowing of growth due to many new apartment complexes.
Half of all renters, about 22 million, spent over 30 percent of their income on housing, and twelve million of them spend more than half their income on their rent.
The Harvard study finds that 20 million homeowners are considered “cost burdened” and face an average increase of 21 percent between 2022 and 2023 in insurance premiums.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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