New Zillow Report Predicts U.S. Housing Market to Return to Affordability by End of 2026
LAS VEGAS, NV – Currently, over 80 percent of U.S. citizens report that the cost of housing is a serious problem, and this situation has persisted for several years now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, casting concerns over the ability of many families to own a home in the modern economic climate.
However, a new report by tech real-estate marketplace company Zillow predicts that the housing market will return to affordability by the end of the year, an assertion that has surprised many in the industry.
Home buying is becoming more affordable in more cities, with Zillow forecasting that 20 of the 50 largest U.S. metros will be affordable to buy in by the end of 2026 – the most since 2022,” the Zillow report says.
The concept of home affordability, according to Congress.gov, is when a considerable percentage of a home’s combined income is spent on costs associated with owning a home.
Federal housing policies typically deem housing to be “affordable” if it costs no more than 30 percent of family income (adjusted for family size),” the Federal report says. “According to this metric, families that pay more are considered to be ‘cost burdened,’ and those that pay more than half of their incomes are considered ‘severely cost burdened.’”
However, Zillow senior economist Kara Ng prognosticates that slowing rates of home price increases, coupled with gradually-lowering home mortgage rates and households now earning more money on average than in previous years will most likely contribute to the overall housing market becoming affordable for families by the end of the year.
This is what a small-wins year looks like for housing,” she said. “Rising incomes, subdued price growth, and gradually easing mortgage rates would help buyers regain their footing while allowing homeowners to continue building wealth. These types of slow and steady affordability improvements are exactly what the housing market needs over the long-run.”
Shelter Realty Property Management specializes in the areas of Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV. Feel free to give us a call at 702.376.7379 so we can answer any questions you may have.
Christopher Boyle is an expert investigative journalist for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® and reports for independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher keeps a keen-eye on what’s happening in the Vegas real estate market on behalf of Shelter Realty Property Management