New homes in the U.S. reached new lows for affordability in March 2022.

The following chart shows the raw affordability of new homes at a new record low, as the increase in median household income for March 2022 was much smaller than the increase in the median new home sale price recorded for the month.

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March 2022's median household income was just 17.5% of the value of the median new home sold during the month.

At the same time, a more refined measure of affordability that takes the average 30-year conventional mortgage rate for March 2022 into account shows the mortgage payment for the median new home sold rose sharply with respect to the typical income earned by an American household to levels not seen since the housing bubble of the first decade of the 21st century.

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The average mortgage payment for a median new home sold in March 2022 represents 33.8% of the income for the median American household.

References

U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Sales Historical Data. Houses Sold. [Excel Spreadsheet]. Accessed 26 April 2022. 

U.S. Census Bureau. New Residential Sales Historical Data. Median and Average Sale Price of Houses Sold. [Excel Spreadsheet]. Accessed 26 April 2022. 

Freddie Mac. 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages Since 1971. [Online Database]. Accessed 29 April 2022.