Market Trends & ResearchRealtyHop Housing Affordability Index: April 2025

RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index: April 2025

Map of the least and most affordable housing markets nationwide in April 2025
In this April 2025 edition of the Housing Affordability Index, we examine what American households across the 100 largest cities need to spend on housing to find out:

Is homeownership affordable or possible for the average American family?

Prospective buyers have more options to choose from as sellers place their properties on the market in April 2025. However, in many parts of the country, buying a home remains expensive for the average household. The interest rate slightly decreased to 6.6% this month, but that does not offer much wiggle room for buyers with constrained budgets. Those looking to purchase property across most major cities can still expect to spend over 30% of their monthly income on housing costs this month.

Key Findings

  • Homebuyers in 77 out of the 100 major cities we analyzed would have to spend over 30% of their annual income on homeownership – that’s one more than last month.
  • In the 25 most unaffordable housing markets nationwide, homeowners spend at least 44% of their income on homeownership costs.
  • California remains unaffordable for average Americans. Six of the ten least affordable markets are in California.
  • All five of the least affordable housing markets — Los Angeles, CA; Irvine, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; and Newark, NJ — became less affordable this month.
  • The median home price increased in two of the most affordable housing markets: St. Detroit, MI, and Toledo, OH.

The 5 Least Affordable Housing Markets

1. Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles remains the country’s least affordable housing market. The median list price increased to $1,195,000, and families can expect to direct a whopping 96.96% of their income towards homeownership costs.

2. Irvine, CA

Irvine also held onto its position this month. Households can expect to spend 85.22% of their income, or $9,665.17 monthly, on their mortgage payments and property taxes.

3. Miami, FL

Miami is the third least affordable housing market. The median list price increased to $715,000, and households can expect to spend $4,248.18 monthly on homeownership costs.

4. New York, NY

New York City is the fourth least affordable housing market this month. With a median list price of $850,000, households with a median income of $83,770 can expect to spend 69.81% of their earnings on housing each month.

5. Newark, NJ

Newark held onto its spot as the fifth least affordable housing market. The median list price increased by 2.35% to $435,000, meaning households can expect to spend $2,898.73 on monthly housing costs.

The 5 Most Affordable Housing Markets

1. Detroit, MI

Detroit is, again, the most affordable housing market nationwide. With a median list price of $98,900, households can expect to direct 18.07% of their income toward mortgage payments and property taxes.

2. Toledo, OH

Toledo held onto its spot as the second most affordable housing market. Households with a median income of $49,951 can expect to spend $780.86 monthly on the cost of homeownership.

3. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis remains the third most affordable housing market this month. The median list price dropped 2.49% to $199,900, and households can expect to spend 24.88% of their income on housing costs.

4. Kansas City, MO

Kansas City remained the fourth most affordable housing market. Households with a median income of $70,882 will spend 25.40% of their monthly income on mortgage payments and property taxes.

5. Buffalo, NY

Buffalo is still the fifth most affordable housing market this month. The typical household can expect to spend $1,090.94 monthly on homeownership, which is 25.95% of their income.

Housing Markets to Watch

The following housing markets witnessed significant changes in April 2025.

Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs dropped six spots in the rankings to become the 51st least affordable housing market this month. The median list price decreased to $490,000, and households can expect to direct 37.32% of their income toward housing costs.

St. Paul, MN

St. Paul became less affordable for prospective buyers this month, becoming the 86th least affordable market. Households with a median income of $76,688 can expect to spend $1,772.13 monthly on mortgage payments and property taxes.

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix became more expensive this month, as the median list price increased 4.18% to $474,000. Households with a median income of $80,873 will direct 39.28% toward housing monthly.

Methodology

The RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index: April 2025 analyzes proprietary and ACS Census data to provide an index of housing affordability and homeownership burden across the 100 most populous cities in the country. Median home prices are calculated using over 800,000 listings in the RealtyHop database over the month before publication.

To calculate the index, the following statistics are used:

1) Projected median household income.

2) Median for-sale home listing prices via RealtyHop data

3) Local property taxes via ACS Census data

4) Mortgage expenses, assuming a 30-year mortgage, a 6.682% mortgage interest rate based on reported weekly averages in the past four weeks, and a 20% down payment.

See below for previous RealtyHop Housing Affordability Studies:

Full Data for April 2025

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