Homebuyer Income Needed Slightly Drops as Affordability Stabilizes

For the year ending in June, Redfin found that earning $109,796 now suffices to afford a median U.S. home, a modest 0.5% decline from the previous record.

According to Redfin, the earnings needed to buy a median-priced home in the United States slipped to $109,796 for the twelve months ending in June, a 0.5% reduction from the June 2025 high of $110,382. The modest drop reflects a 2.2% rise in home prices offset by a rise in median household income to $87,599, shrinking the shortfall between required earnings and typical earnings to roughly $22,200. Previously, the gap was $26,125 and two years ago exceeded $28,800.

Affordable listings now represent 34.2% of the market, up from 30.5% a year earlier, yet only three metro areas—St. Louis, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh—show households earning enough to comfortably afford a home. Redfin's senior economist Yingqi Xu cautioned that despite the stabilization, a double-digit gap remains, leaving many prospective first-time buyers on the sidelines. The analysis assumes a 15% down payment and incorporates median prices, mortgage rates and property taxes.