Of the 30 top metro areas in the US, 30% meet the housing affordability rules for 30%.
Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales offers an analysis of US housing affordability when he appeared on Mornings With Maria.
The 30% rule, which limits potential home buyers’ mortgage payments to 30% of their monthly income, is a general standard that home buyers usually follow, ensuring that the annual cost of a home doesn’t put too much strain on their finances.
However, according to a new report from Realtor.com, home buyers can follow their recommendations when purchasing a home, fewer places in the country’s major metropolitan areas.
The affordable prices of only three of the 50 top metro areas in the US are like households that make the median income. Scoop up the house According to the report, it will not exceed 30% of annual revenue.
America’s Housing Crisis: Realtor.com CEO says there’s a way to solve it
Realtor.com “I said that by using the standard 20% down payment and the average May mortgage rate of 6.82%, the 30% rule has been determined which can be enforceable, and I have also taken out taxes and insurance.

On June 1, 2024, a sale sign appears in front of a home in Patchigue, New York. (via Steve Pfost / Newsday RM Getty Images / Getty Images)
These metropolitan areas were Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Detroit Warren Dareborn, Michigan. The Real Estate Market, St. Louis, Missouri, said.
The median annual household income for these cities was $72,935, $72,493 and $79,869, respectively, according to the report.
In Pittsburghthe median household income required to be able to set up a $249,900 home in the area was 27.4%. The report fixed the amount that households must pay at $19,970 a year for mortgages, taxes and insurance payments.

In Pittsburgh, the median annual income percentage for households that could set up a $249,900 home in the area was 27.4%. (istock / istock)
Meanwhile, Detroit Warren DeAlborn took advantage of 29.8% of households. annual income For a house asking for a median of $270,000 in May, according to Realtor.com. Annual mortgage payments, taxes and insurance will be $21,576.

Meanwhile, Detroit Warren DeAnborn took advantage of 29.8% of the annual income of households seeking a median of $270,000 in May. (Lightrocket via Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Households in the St. Louis area can cover relevant payments for the median home at 30% of their annual income, the real estate market reported.

Households in the St. Louis area can cover the relevant payments for the median home at 30% of their annual income. (Reuters/Tom Gannam/Reuters Photos)
“While some ‘Midwest markets’ still offer a path to homeownership for centrally-income households that can pay a 20% down payment, “IT” will remain outside of financial range without making any major changes to either housing supply or interest rates in most large markets,” Realtor.com chief economist Daniel Hale said in a statement.
Click here to get your Fox business on the go
“Revenues are rising, but home buying costs have risen faster. This means that in many housing markets across the country, adherence to affordable guidelines can feel unchallenging,” she said.
Nationally, Realtor.com has found that about 44.6% of income is needed to be able to handle “median” homes financially.
Some metro areas have seen a much higher percentage of the median income required to pay for the median home. Los Angeles Long Beach AnaheimAccording to the report, 104% and New York, New York and Jersey City appeared in 66.9%. In the Boston-Cumbridge-Newton area, the median household income was 64.3%.

Nationally, Realtor.com has found that about 44.6% of income is needed to be able to handle “median” homes financially. (fstop123 / istock)
One thing Realtor.com said it helps affordable is adding more homes at an affordable level.
Another report released last month by the National Association of Realtors and Realtor.com Found Thirty percent of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States were areas that “approximate to balance” due to affordable housing supply across income levels, while 44 percent were “inconsistent, but stuck in the middle” rather than housing demand and supply rather than crisis levels. For a quarter (26%), that “affordable listing gap” continued to deteriorate, and there was a market that was moving away from balance.
Housing is more affordable for middle-income people, but supply issues remain
Many US adults – 75% – still think they have homeownership The American Dream Componentsaccording to a January survey by Realtor.com.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the US homeownership rate was overturned at 65.1% in the first quarter of 2025.