[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f24osw00j6s5vv":3,"$ffeh0925h8cuz":47,"$fbwk2pqjjqsc7":51},{"item":4,"previous":35,"next":41},{"id":5,"slug":6,"title":7,"description":8,"excerpt":9,"contentType":10,"featuredImage":11,"bannerImage":9,"body":12,"agentsBottomLine":13,"bodyImage":14,"isInfographic":15,"categories":16,"isVideo":15,"videoThumbnail":9,"videoSource":9,"publishedAt":33,"updatedAt":34},1122,"homes-more-affordable-today-than-1985-2000","Homes More Affordable Today than 1985-2000","Rising home prices have many concerned that the average family will no longer be able to afford the most precious piece of the American Dream – their own home.","","blog","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F03114737\u002F20180705-Share-STM.jpg","Rising home prices have many concerned that the average family will no longer be able to afford the most precious piece of the American Dream – their own home.\u003C!--more-->\r\n\r\nHowever, it is not just the price of a home that determines its affordability. The monthly cost of a home is determined by the price \u003Cem>and\u003C\u002Fem> the interest rate on the mortgage used to purchase it.\r\n\r\nToday, mortgage interest rates stand at about 4.5%. The average annual mortgage interest rate from 1985 to 2000 was almost double that number, at 8.92%. When comparing affordability of homeownership over the decades, we must also realize that incomes have increased.\r\n\r\nThis is why most indexes use \u003Cem>the percentage of median income required to make monthly mortgage payments on a typical home \u003C\u002Fem>as the point of comparison.\r\n\r\n\u003Cem>Zillow\u003C\u002Fem> recently released a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.zillow.com\u002Fresearch\u002Fbuying-home-less-affordable-20293\u002F\">report\u003C\u002Fa> comparing home affordability over the decades using this formula. The report revealed that, though homes are less affordable this year than last year, they are more affordable today (17.1%) than they were between 1985-2000 (21%). Additionally, homes are more affordable now than at the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 (25.4%). Here is a chart of these findings:\r\n\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180705-STM-ENG1.jpeg\">\u003Cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-37781\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180705-STM-ENG1.jpeg\" alt=\"Homes More Affordable Today than 1985-2000 | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>\r\n\u003Ch4>\u003Cstrong>What will happen when mortgage interest rates rise?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\nMost experts think that the mortgage interest rate will increase to about 5% by year’s end. How will that impact affordability? \u003Cem>Zillow\u003C\u002Fem> also covered this in their report:\r\n\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180705-STM-ENG2.jpeg\">\u003Cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-37782\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180705-STM-ENG2.jpeg\" alt=\"Homes More Affordable Today than 1985-2000 | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>\r\n\r\nRates would need to approach 6% before homes became less affordable than they had been historically.\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nThough homes are less affordable today than they were last year, they are still a great purchase while interest rates are below the 6% mark.","\r\nThough homes are less affordable today than they were last year, they are still a great purchase while interest rates are below the 6% mark.","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180705-STM-ENG1.jpeg",false,[17,21,25,29],{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},5,"For Buyers","buyers",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},9,"Home Prices","home-prices",{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},11,"First-Time Buyers","first-time-buyers",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},38,"Move-Up","move-up","2018-07-05T10:00:11Z","2018-07-03T12:18:08Z",{"id":36,"slug":37,"title":38,"featuredImage":39,"publishedAt":40,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1121,"va-loans-making-a-home-for-the-brave-possible","VA Loans: Making a Home for the Brave Possible","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F03153131\u002F20180704-Share-STM.jpg","2018-07-04T10:00:17Z",{"id":42,"slug":43,"title":44,"featuredImage":45,"publishedAt":46,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1123,"cost-across-time-infographic-4","Cost Across Time [INFOGRAPHIC]","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F03135850\u002F20180706-Share-STM.jpg","2018-07-06T10:00:11Z",{"cover":48,"open":49,"shareSpread":50},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Cover-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Spread-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Magazine-original.png",[52,56,57,61,65,69,70,71,75,79,80,84,88,92,96,100,104,108,112,116,120,124,128,132,136,140,144,148,152,156],{"id":53,"name":54,"slug":55},1,"Uncategorized","uncategorized",{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},{"id":58,"name":59,"slug":60},6,"For Sellers","sellers",{"id":62,"name":63,"slug":64},7,"Foreclosures","foreclosures",{"id":66,"name":67,"slug":68},8,"Infographics","infographics",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},{"id":72,"name":73,"slug":74},34,"Senior Market","senior-market",{"id":76,"name":77,"slug":78},35,"Mortgage Rates","mortgage-rates",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},{"id":81,"name":82,"slug":83},41,"For Sale by Owner","for-sale-by-owner",{"id":85,"name":86,"slug":87},42,"Featured","featured",{"id":89,"name":90,"slug":91},45,"New Construction","new-construction",{"id":93,"name":94,"slug":95},52,"Luxury \u002F Vacation","luxury--vacation",{"id":97,"name":98,"slug":99},53,"Rent vs. Buy","rent-vs-buy",{"id":101,"name":102,"slug":103},80,"Time-sensitive","time-sensitive",{"id":105,"name":106,"slug":107},81,"Outdated","outdated",{"id":109,"name":110,"slug":111},147,"Internal","internal",{"id":113,"name":114,"slug":115},148,"Do Not Autopost","do-not-autopost",{"id":117,"name":118,"slug":119},320,"Inventory","inventory",{"id":121,"name":122,"slug":123},321,"Agent Value","agent-value",{"id":125,"name":126,"slug":127},322,"Affordability","affordability",{"id":129,"name":130,"slug":131},323,"Buying Tips","buying-tips",{"id":133,"name":134,"slug":135},324,"Downsize","downsize",{"id":137,"name":138,"slug":139},325,"Economy","economy",{"id":141,"name":142,"slug":143},326,"Equity","equity",{"id":145,"name":146,"slug":147},327,"Forecasts","forecasts",{"id":149,"name":150,"slug":151},328,"Selling Tips","selling-tips",{"id":153,"name":154,"slug":155},339,"Expired\u002FWithdrawn\u002FCanceled","expiredwithdrawncanceled",{"id":157,"name":158,"slug":159},340,"Price It Right\u002FOverpricing","price-it-rightoverpricing"]