High home prices and interest rates have pushed home sales to their lowest level in 30 years, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Some of the highlights in the report included:
In 2024, 4.06 million home sales were recorded, the fewest since 1995.
The slowdown in home sales has increased the for-sale inventory, with inventories up in 98 of the nation’s 100 largest metros in early 2025.
As home sales dropped, home prices increased 60% from 2019 to 2025, and the median existing single-family home price hit a high of $412,500 in 2024.
Due to high home prices, the homeownership rate has decreased, pricing out first-time buyers.
In 2024, monthly mortgage payments on the median-priced home rose to $2,570, 40% higher than it was in 1990.
A buyer would need an annual income of at least $126,700 to afford that mortgage payment and the associated taxes and insurance costs. Only 6 million of the nation’s 46 million renters can meet that benchmark, according to JCHS.
Read the full report here.
