Want To Buy a House in These 5 Cities? Hurry Up — They Are Becoming Increasingly Unaffordable

Although the estimated amount might be lower for 2025, the last reported median household income in the United States was $80,610 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Using the common 3X annual income rule to calculate how much you should spend on a house, the average American homebuyer making the median annual salary should have a target price of $241,830.

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Unfortunately, the median existing-home sales price increased 1.8% to $414,000 in April 2024, marking an all-time high for the month and the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year price gains, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) press release from May.

Although some housing measures have improved over the past 12 months — such as inventory increasing significantly — the U.S. still has a major housing affordability crisis. High prices and interest rates mixed with a still-limited supply has made the “American Dream” of owning a home out of reach to the vast majority of the country’s citizens.

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Although things are tough all over, a recent Lending Tree study found that certain parts of the country have worse housing crisis outlooks than others. Looking at vacancy rates, housing unit approvals, home value-to-income ratios and changes in those ratios, the study found that metros with the worst housing forecasts are primarily located in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and those with the best outlooks are based in the South.

While the overall outlook is less positive in the PNW, the metros with the biggest increases in home value-to-income ratios (used to measure unaffordability) might surprise you. Here are the five cities LendingTree found to have the greatest increases in unaffordability, per changes to home value-to-income ratio between 2022 and 2023.

5. Atlanta

• Change in home value-to-income ratio 2022 to 2023: 6.97%

• Overall housing outlook rank: 24

Around the same time LendingTree ended its study, Redfin reported that only 15.5% of homes for sale that year were affordable for the typical American household. Redfin found Atlanta experienced a -48.9% change in the number of affordable listings between 2022 and 2023, matching LendingTree’s recorded high change to home value-to-income ratio of 6.97% during the same timeframe.

Significantly, Atlanta’s vacancy rate and housing unit approvals per 1,000 were on the low side, which influenced house prices to rise in the area, per Lending Tree.

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4. Boise, Idaho

• Change in home value-to-income ratio 2022 to 2023: 7.12%

• Overall housing outlook rank: 2

Boise, Idaho, has the second-lowest vacancy rate (4.56%) and ranked second overall in LendingTree’s housing outlook study. It also saw the fourth-largest gain in its home value-to-income ratio, climbing 7.12% between 2022 and 2023.

3. Spokane, Washington

• Change in home value-to-income ratio 2022 to 2023: 7.17%

• Overall housing outlook rank: 4

LendingTree’s study found that three of the five metros in the Pacific Northwest, including Portland and Boise, Idaho, had the worst housing outlooks. Spokane, Washington, ranked fourth overall, in the bottom third in vacancy rate (6.33%) and third in change in home value-to income ratio (7.17%). While the median listing home price in Spokane trended down marginally from April to May 2025 year-over-year, it still sits at around $465,000, per Realtor.com.

2. Charlotte, North Carolina

• Change in home value-to-income ratio 2022 to 2023: 7.2%

• Overall housing outlook rank: 30

According to Zillow, the average home value in Charlotte is $404,294, increasing more than 53% from May 2020. North Carolina’s most populous city had an overall LendingTree housing outlook rank of 30, but has seen the gap between home values and household income widen considerably since 2022. However, Charlotte didn’t have the highest ratio change in the Tarheel State.

1. Durham, North Carolina

• Change in home value-to-income ratio 2022 to 2023: 8.6%

• Overall housing outlook rank: 19

California metros occupied seven of the top 10 highest home value-to income ratios in LendingTree’s housing outlook study. That’s not surprising — California (and Hawaii) consistently ranks high among U.S. states when comparing median incomes with median home prices.

However, Durham, North Carolina, holds the distinction among cities studied by LendingTree of having the greatest change in home value-to-income ratio. Durham’s median household income is $81,017, with a median home value of $359,400 (a 4.4 ratio), but its ratio change between 2022 and 2023 was a whopping 8.6%.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Want To Buy a House in These 5 Cities? Hurry Up — They Are Becoming Increasingly Unaffordable