Shafiq Hirani CCIMReal Estate Advisor, REMAX Distinctive · Real Estate Advisor at RE/MAX Distinctive Commercial | Washington, DC | Your Guide To Profitable Real Estate Ventures

US Housing Market: The Unaffordable Dream & Renters Trapped! #shorts

28 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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1:20

In this concise commentary, Shafiq Hirani CCIM outlines a deepening affordability crisis in the U.S. housing market. He notes that 77% of households cannot afford the median price of a new single‑family home, with home values jumping over 45% from 2020 to 2025—equivalent to 11 years of typical appreciation compressed into five. Mortgage rates have risen to around 6.5%, dramatically increasing monthly payments for new buyers compared with those who locked in sub‑3% rates during the pandemic. A structural “lock‑in” dynamic is highlighted: more than half of existing mortgages are below 4%, discouraging owners from selling and thus suppressing inventory, which sustains high prices and forces prospective buyers into prolonged renting. Consequently, nearly half of U.S. renters are cost‑burdened, spending over 30% of income on housing, and many rent not by choice but because homeownership is financially out of reach. While three‑quarters of Americans still view homeownership as part of the American Dream, an increasing number find that dream unattainable at current price levels.

Chapters

77% of US households cannot afford the median price of a new single-family home. Home values surged more than 45% between 2020 and 2025. That is roughly 11 years of normal appreciation compressed into 5. And mortgage rates are sitting near 6.5%, which means a buyer today is paying dramatically more per month than someone who locked in at 3% during the pandemic. But it is not just about rates and prices. There is a structural lock-in happening. More than half of all outstanding mortgages in this country are financed below 4%. Those homeowners are not selling because selling means giving up a rate they will never see again. That keeps inventory off the market, which keeps prices elevated, which keeps would-be buyers stuck renting. It is a cycle that feeds itself. And here is the part that hits hardest. Nearly half of all renters in the US are now cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Many of them are not renting because they want to. They are renting because there is no viable path to ownership. 3 quarters of Americans still believe homeownership is part of the American dream, but for a growing number of families, that dream is simply not available at today's prices.