Housing Statistics Are Staggering—One Thing Is Clear: Reforming America’s Housing Policy Is Urgent

Home prices are up 60% nationwide since 2019. The median existing single-family home price hit $426,800 in Q3 of 2025. Homes now cost 5 times the median household income. Historically, the affordable ratio was 3 to 4 times income. More than 75% of US homes on the market are unaffordable to the typical household. The National Association of Realtors reports that only 24% of home purchases in 2024 were made by first-time home buyers, down from 50%. in 2010. The median age of a first-time home buyer has now reached 40 years old. That is a record high, up from 33 years old just 5 years ago. Monthly mortgage payments on the median-priced home now run approximately $2,570 under typical first-time home buyer terms. To afford that, plus taxes and insurance, a household needs an annual income of at least $126,700. Only about 6 million of America's 46 million renters meet that benchmark. The homeownership rate fell in 2024 for the first time in 8 years. These are the conditions that make housing policy a priority for Americans across the political spectrum. The question policymakers are trying to answer: what's driving these conditions and what interventions could help?