[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$ft52qool8h0w8":3,"$ffeh0925h8cuz":51,"$fbwk2pqjjqsc7":55},{"item":4,"previous":39,"next":45},{"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":37,"updatedAt":38},1818,"47-of-new-buyers-surprised-by-how-affordable-homes-are-today","47% of New Buyers Surprised by How Affordable Homes Are Today","Headlines matter. Right now, it’s hard to read about real estate without seeing a headline that suggests homes have become unaffordable for most Americans. In reality, there’s hard evidence that shows how owning a home is more affordable than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.attomdata.com\u002Fnews\u002Fmarket-trends\u002Fhome-sales-prices\u002Fattom-data-solutions-2021-rental-affordability-report\u002F\">renting\u003C\u002Fa> in most parts of the country, as record-low interest rates are keeping monthly mortgage payments about 23% \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.corelogic.com\u002Fblog\u002F2020\u002F12\u002Faffordability-challenges-ahead-large-demographic-tailwind-has-arrived-amid-lowest-inventory-of-homes-for-sale.aspx\">lower\u003C\u002Fa> than the typical payment of 20 years ago. Despite the facts, misleading headlines persist, and they impact how hopeful homebuyers perceive the market.","","blog","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F10130507\u002F20210211-KCM-Share.jpg","Headlines matter. Right now, it’s hard to read about real estate without seeing a headline that suggests homes have become unaffordable for most Americans. In reality, there’s hard evidence that shows how owning a home is more affordable than \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.attomdata.com\u002Fnews\u002Fmarket-trends\u002Fhome-sales-prices\u002Fattom-data-solutions-2021-rental-affordability-report\u002F\">renting\u003C\u002Fa> in most parts of the country, as record-low interest rates are keeping monthly mortgage payments about 23% \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.corelogic.com\u002Fblog\u002F2020\u002F12\u002Faffordability-challenges-ahead-large-demographic-tailwind-has-arrived-amid-lowest-inventory-of-homes-for-sale.aspx\">lower\u003C\u002Fa> than the typical payment of 20 years ago. Despite the facts, misleading headlines persist, and they impact how hopeful homebuyers perceive the market.\u003C!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn a recent \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fnews.move.com\u002F2021-02-03-Affordability-Surprises-First-Time-Homebuyers-While-Parental-Assistance-Savings-and-Wishlist-Compromises-Prove-Common-Survey-Finds\">survey\u003C\u002Fa> by \u003Cem>realtor.com\u003C\u002Fem>, home shoppers indicated they were surprised by what they could actually afford when buying their first home. In fact, 47% discovered their budget was larger than they expected. George Ratiu, \u003Cem>Senior Economist\u003C\u002Fem> at \u003Cem>realtor.com\u003C\u002Fem>, explains:\r\n\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cem>\"For first-time buyers, especially, the drop in the 30-year mortgage rate…has provided unexpected leverage. Lower rates allowed many buyers to stretch and buy more expensive homes while keeping their monthly budget the same.\"\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\r\n\u003Ch4>\u003Cstrong>So why do these negative headlines that cast doubt on affordability continue to exist?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\nMost analysts only look at two of the three elements that make up the affordability equation: \u003Cstrong>price\u003C\u002Fstrong> and \u003Cstrong>income\u003C\u002Fstrong>. It’s true that incomes haven’t kept up with the \u003Cem>price\u003C\u002Fem> of houses. However, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002F2020\u002F09\u002F22\u002Fthe-cost-of-a-home-is-far-more-important-than-the-price\u002F\">affordability\u003C\u002Fa> is about the \u003Cem>cost\u003C\u002Fem> of the home, not just the price. For that reason, \u003Cstrong>mortgage rates\u003C\u002Fstrong>, the third element of the affordability equation, are important to consider.\r\n\u003Cp data-wp-editing=\"1\">For example, here’s the \u003Cem>typical mortgage payment\u003C\u002Fem> for assorted dates going back to 2000, as calculated by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.corelogic.com\u002Fblog\u002F2020\u002F12\u002Faffordability-challenges-ahead-large-demographic-tailwind-has-arrived-amid-lowest-inventory-of-homes-for-sale.aspx\">\u003Cem>CoreLogic\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa>:\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F20210211-MEM-Eng-1.jpg\">\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter wp-image-43852\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F20210211-MEM-Eng-1.jpg\" alt=\"47% of New Buyers Surprised by How Affordable Homes Are Today | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>Outside of the housing crash (when short sales and foreclosures drove prices down), it’s more affordable to buy a home today when you consider all three elements of the affordability equation: \u003Cstrong>price, income,\u003C\u002Fstrong> \u003Cstrong>and mortgage rate\u003C\u002Fstrong>.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nWhether you’re a first-time buyer or a move-up buyer, don’t let the headlines scare you away from your dream of homeownership. Instead, connect with mortgage and real estate professionals to determine what you can afford and what’s available at that price. Like almost half of the buyers in the survey, you may be pleasantly surprised.","\r\nWhether you’re a first-time buyer or a move-up buyer, don’t let the headlines scare you away from your dream of homeownership. Instead, connect with mortgage and real estate professionals to determine what you can afford and what’s available at that price. Like almost half of the buyers in the survey, you may be pleasantly surprised.","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F20210211-MEM-Eng-1.jpg",false,[17,21,25,29,33],{"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},35,"Mortgage Rates","mortgage-rates",{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36},38,"Move-Up","move-up","2021-02-11T10:00:11Z","2021-02-11T11:00:11Z",{"id":40,"slug":41,"title":42,"featuredImage":43,"publishedAt":44,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1817,"the-luxury-market-is-attracting-buyers-in-2021","The Luxury Market Is Attracting Buyers in 2021","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F08121119\u002F20210210-KCM-Share.jpg","2021-02-10T10:00:40Z",{"id":46,"slug":47,"title":48,"featuredImage":49,"publishedAt":50,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1819,"why-its-easy-to-fall-in-love-with-homeownership-infographic","Why It’s Easy to Fall in Love with Homeownership [INFOGRAPHIC]","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F02\u002F11131152\u002F20210212-KCM-Share.png","2021-02-12T11:00:48Z",{"cover":52,"open":53,"shareSpread":54},"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",[56,60,61,65,69,73,74,75,79,80,81,85,89,93,97,101,105,109,113,117,121,125,129,133,137,141,145,149,153,157],{"id":57,"name":58,"slug":59},1,"Uncategorized","uncategorized",{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},{"id":62,"name":63,"slug":64},6,"For Sellers","sellers",{"id":66,"name":67,"slug":68},7,"Foreclosures","foreclosures",{"id":70,"name":71,"slug":72},8,"Infographics","infographics",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},{"id":76,"name":77,"slug":78},34,"Senior Market","senior-market",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36},{"id":82,"name":83,"slug":84},41,"For Sale by Owner","for-sale-by-owner",{"id":86,"name":87,"slug":88},42,"Featured","featured",{"id":90,"name":91,"slug":92},45,"New Construction","new-construction",{"id":94,"name":95,"slug":96},52,"Luxury \u002F Vacation","luxury--vacation",{"id":98,"name":99,"slug":100},53,"Rent vs. Buy","rent-vs-buy",{"id":102,"name":103,"slug":104},80,"Time-sensitive","time-sensitive",{"id":106,"name":107,"slug":108},81,"Outdated","outdated",{"id":110,"name":111,"slug":112},147,"Internal","internal",{"id":114,"name":115,"slug":116},148,"Do Not Autopost","do-not-autopost",{"id":118,"name":119,"slug":120},320,"Inventory","inventory",{"id":122,"name":123,"slug":124},321,"Agent Value","agent-value",{"id":126,"name":127,"slug":128},322,"Affordability","affordability",{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132},323,"Buying Tips","buying-tips",{"id":134,"name":135,"slug":136},324,"Downsize","downsize",{"id":138,"name":139,"slug":140},325,"Economy","economy",{"id":142,"name":143,"slug":144},326,"Equity","equity",{"id":146,"name":147,"slug":148},327,"Forecasts","forecasts",{"id":150,"name":151,"slug":152},328,"Selling Tips","selling-tips",{"id":154,"name":155,"slug":156},339,"Expired\u002FWithdrawn\u002FCanceled","expiredwithdrawncanceled",{"id":158,"name":159,"slug":160},340,"Price It Right\u002FOverpricing","price-it-rightoverpricing"]