New data from the National Association of Realtors shows housing affordability fell in May as home prices rose faster than median family incomes.
Monthly mortgage payments jumped 20% in the last year, rising from $1,003 to $1,204. At the same time, median home prices surged 24.4% while median family incomes declined. Housing is taking a bigger bite out of workers’ paychecks, too. Americans now spend 16.5% of their income on mortgage payments, up from 13.9% just a year ago.
Affordability crashed in every region of the country. The South was hit hardest, with a 15.5% drop, followed by double-digit declines in the Midwest, West, and Northeast.
And it’s not just home prices. Tariffs pushed by Donald Trump are driving up the cost of construction materials, adding more than $4,000 to the total cost of building a typical new home.
Data released in June showed overall new housing starts fell by nearly 10% the month prior. In the same month, new home sales dropped by 13.7%, the biggest monthly decline since 2022. Compared to the previous year, new home sales were down 6.3%.
“Trump promised Americans he’d bring back the American Dream and cut home prices in half, but the truth is his policies are gutting the one thing working Americans used to believe in: that if you worked hard, then one day you could own a home. Instead, he’s made it harder for people to buy a home, furnish it, or even keep up with mortgage payments,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “While Trump brags about tariffs and trade deals that never materialize, families are drowning in debt, while others are locked out of the housing market altogether. The future Americans were promised is gone, and Trump is the reason why.”
Published: Jul 17, 2025