The U.S. housing market is in shambles. 

Rising interest rates have made the dream of owning a home ever distant for a growing number of Americans. 

The number of homes sold in June fell 15.6% year over year to 520,504 as the national average 30 year fixed rate mortgage has grown 1.2% to 6.7% over the same time period,” according to Redfin.

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Rural America is seeing some of the fastest growing home prices in the country with the Lexington, and Lexington-Fayette regions in Kentucky taking the top two spots and Columbus, GA rounding out the top-5.

Supply has been an issue for months and the summer numbers show a 12% year over year decline in homes for sale nationally. 

Fortune Magazine’s Lance Lambert broke down the affordability crisis in a tweet this week. 

IF U.S. incomes spiked 69%, we’d return to pre-pandemic housing affordability levels.

IF U.S. home prices fell 41%, we’d return to pre-pandemic affordability.

IF mortgage rates fell 4.3 percentage points (from 7.26% to 2.96%), we’d return to pre-pandemic affordability. pic.twitter.com/P7t6XZlGPJ

— Lance Lambert (@NewsLambert) August 16, 2023

“Simply put, pre-pandemic housing affordability is very far away. Through, July it has actually gotten worse in 2023,” Lambert said in a follow up tweet. 

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“Prices are rising despite relatively low demand because there are so few homes for sale,” Redfin said in its housing market update. “New listings are down 27% year-over-year, the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic, and the total number of homes on the market is down 14%, the biggest drop since March 2022.”

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“That’s mostly because potential sellers are locked in by low rates; nearly all homeowners have a rate below 6%,” Redfin reported.

In 20 U.S. counties, the median mortgage payment rose at least $1,610 year-over-year, according to the data. In one pricey New York market, the typical monthly payment jumped more than $3,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.  

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