Middle-income earners across the U.S. are facing a growing challenge in the housing market as options for affordable homeownership continue to shrink. According to a new report by the National Association of Realtors and Realtor.com, a lack of housing inventory, rising prices, and interest rates have limited the number of available homes that are affordable to households earning between $75,000 and $100,000 annually. While this group makes up a strong portion of the buyer pool, they are only able to afford roughly 23% of listings nationwide — a significant drop from pre-pandemic levels. The situation is even more dire in competitive Sun Belt markets like Phoenix, where housing costs have remained elevated despite cooling demand.
Experts note that a balanced housing market should offer an equal percentage of listings affordable to the share of middle-income buyers, but most metro areas are now falling short. This imbalance is not only squeezing would-be buyers out of the market but also widening socioeconomic gaps in homeownership. In response, housing analysts are calling for increased construction of starter homes and more aggressive policy efforts to ease the burden on middle-income families.
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