32: Housing is Unaffordable, But Could It Actually Get Worse?

The housing market, for most people, seems like an unaffordable investment. For years, housing unaffordability was climbing, but not fast enough to keep average Americans from buying primary residences. Now, combine rising interest rates with all-time high appreciation, and the average renter can’t afford a home in most American metros. But how did this all come to be, and is there a chance that home affordability could get even lower than it stands today? We wanted to know how affordability in the United States compared to other similar countries around the world. Although most Americans would call today’s real estate market completely unaffordable, the data seems to point to something different. There are numerous real estate markets around the country boasting low home prices, high rents, and population growth to support any investment decision. But where are these markets? Dave does his best in this episode to give you a quick overview of how affordability works. We also talk about what causes housing markets to become unaffordable, which metro areas are the most and least unaffordable, and how the United States ranks when put head-to-head against other economies. Thankfully, there is some good news for landlords throughout this episode, so be sure to stick to the end! In This Episode We Cover The three factors of an affordable/unaffordable housing market  What caused the United States housing market to become so unaffordable Will unaffordability problems lead to a real estate bubble in the future? The most (and least) affordable countries around the world Whether or not affordability could get even lower as wages stagnate and interest rates rise What investors can do to capitalize on affordable markets with growing populations And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Forums BiggerPockets Agent Join BiggerPockets for FREE On The Market Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise Connect with Other Investors in the “On The Market” Forums Subscribe to The “On The Market” YouTube Channel Find an Investor Friendly Agent in Your Area Dave’s BiggerPockets Profile Dave’s Instagram Henry's BiggerPockets Profile Henry's Instagram James' BiggerPockets Profile James' Instagram Jamil's BiggerPockets Profile Jamil's Instagram Kathy's BiggerPockets Profile Kathy's Instagram Black Knight NAR Housing Affordability Index OECD Demographia International Housing Affordability How Work-From-Home “Hotspots” Drove the Housing Market Even Higher Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-32 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Check out our sponsor page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices