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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 72 June 2025 J O U R N A L nia metro areas fall more than $100,000 short of the median income needed to purchase the median-priced property in the area. This is true even though the median income in each city is far high- er than the national average. However, this glaring unaffordability is caused by even higher property prices. The top five least affordable cities for median-income earners: 1. San Jose, 2. San Francisco 3. Los Angeles 4. San Diego 5. New York In other words, to purchase a typ- ical property in the metro (with a 20% down payment), each of the lowest-in- come California cities required more than twice the local median income, with San Francisco requiring 325% and San Diego 237%. Americans Falling Short of In- come Needed to Purchase The places individuals call home across the United States are as distinct and varied as the people who live there, from the busy streets of America's larg- est cities to the most comfortable and desirable rural communities. The sala- ries of American homeowners are also rising. However, the median income in places like Massachusetts ($99,858) is more than double that of the typical income earned in Mississippi ($54,203). But the median household only earns $77,719 a year, which is a stag- gering $45,507. To achieve the needed income level, the average American earners in this household would re- quire a raise of about 59%. It's important to keep in mind that the median household income in the United States accounts for multiple earn- ers; the actual median personal income in the United States is slightly more than $42,000. A person or household making that much money and making a 20% down payment could only buy a property that costs between $145,000 and $160,000, which is difficult to locate in almost every medium-sized and large housing market these days. Local incomes tend to significantly inf luence housing costs, with high- er-income neighborhoods generally having more expensive homes and the other way around. However, for median-income earners, purchasing a conventional home can be a relative steal in some regions of the nation, but in others, these average-income house- holds are far from realizing their dream of homeownership. Home prices continue to be the primary driver of housing affordability, but persistent gaps in insurance and property tax costs are becoming more significant, resulting in large disparities in the required income between states with comparable home values. U.S. HOME PRICES DECLINE FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2022 S easonally adjusted, U.S. home prices fell just 0.1% in April, mark- ing the first monthly drop since September 2022. On an annual basis, home prices have increased 4.1%, which was less than the 4.9% growth in March. Since July 2023, that is the lowest annual price growth recorded, according to new Redfin data. The Redfin Home Price Index (RHPI) only reported a month-over- month fall in April; the other two months—August and September of 2022—followed a string of sharp increas- es in interest rates. Overall, and as prices remain elevated, the April decrease (-0.05%, rounded to -0.1%) is significantly slight compared to recent years. The RHPI, which computes season- ally adjusted changes in single-family home prices using the repeat-sales pricing approach, calculates how much a home sold for over a specific period and how much it has changed in value since the last time it sold. From a metro-level standpoint, prices decreased month over month (MoM) in 25 of the 50 most populated metro regions in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, underscoring the general slowdown. The top five metros with the biggest declines were: 6. Charlotte, NC (-1%) 7. Virginia Beach, VA (-1%) 8. Miami (-0.7%) 9. Los Angeles (-0.64%) 10. Portland, OR (-0.61%) The top five metros where prices ticked up most included: 1. Nassau County, NY (1.8% MoM) 2. Warren, MI (1.3%) 3. New York (1.2%) 4. San Francisco (1.03%) 5. Chicago (0.91%) The top five least affordable cities for median-income earners: Rank Metro area Median household income Median home sales price (April 2025) Income needed with 20% down Income needed with 0% down U.S. $77,719 $438,000 $123,226 $147,602 1 San Jose, CA $153,202 $1,700,000 $458,297 $552,904 2 San Fran- cisco $127,792 $127,792 $1,550,000 $415,871 3 Los Angeles $91,960 $905,000 $241,149 $291,514 4 San Diego $103,674 $920,000 $246,134 $297,333 5 New York $95,220 $765,000 $233,455 $276,029