Only a handful of ZIP codes in the nation's largest metros remain affordable for would-be homeowners. Movingplace found that just three of the 150 most populous ZIP codes had median home prices low enough to keep mortgage payments under 28% of income, a common benchmark for affordability.
Conforming mortgage guidelines call for a 28%
In creating this analysis, Movingplace looked at median home values in the ZIP code; the second quarter average mortgage rate in that state; a mortgage payment at an 80% loan-to-value which also included taxes and insurance; plus, renter income in the county.
The most affordable ZIP codes were primarily located in the Sun Belt, although of the 10 most affordable, three were in Chicago.
Atlanta's 30349 was the most affordable, according to Movingplace's calculations, with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 25.1%. Next was 75217 in Dallas at 25.3%, followed by 60617 in Chicago at 26.2%.
Neighborhoods with over 100% front-end DTI
At the other end of the spectrum, neighborhoods in all five New York City boroughs were represented in the 10 least affordable. ZIP code 11204 in Brooklyn had a 135% ratio, followed by the Bronx' 10453 at 117.4%.
The only other city with a triple digit ratio was Redmond, Washington, at 100.3%. But Manhattan's 10025 ranked fourth at 93.7%, while Ridgewood, a neighborhood in Queens on the border with Brooklyn, was fifth at 92.7%. Staten Island ZIP code 10314 was eighth on the list at 82.4%.
This only tells part of the story when it comes to New York City ZIPs as the end report included only the most expensive in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan because these counties would dominate the unaffordability list, a note accompanying the report said.
Otherwise 16 more ZIPs from Brooklyn would have been in the top 20, including six more with mortgage-to-income ratios over 100%. Another five Bronx neighborhoods and one additional Manhattan ZIP all were less affordable than No. 20 on the list, 91342 in Sylmar, California at 66.5%.
A Chicago ZIP also appeared on the 10 least affordable list, 60647, with a mortgage-to-income ratio of 79%.
Movingplace in its blog post about the survey cited a Nov. 4 National Association of Realtors release noting the
Affordability factors for younger families played a role in this shift. The median age in 2024 for a first-time buyer was 38 and five years ago, it was 33. When NAR did its first survey in 1981, the median age was 29.
The first-time buyer share of the was 21%, the lowest since NAR started collecting this data.
How other debt is affecting home purchases
Meanwhile, it is not just potential mortgage debt keeping people from buying a home. Approximately 23% of people who owe money on their credit cards said they have delayed buying a home because of this situation, according to a Clever Real Estate report.
At the same time, 22% said their credit card debt pushed their back-end ratio high enough that it
Additionally, 23% of respondents said they missed making a credit card payment in order to pay their mortgage or rent.
Homeowners have an average balance on their credit cards which is 37% higher than renters, $8,486 versus $6,214. But, the share of renters with credit card debt of any kind is higher at 60% than for homeowners at 51%.
The survey found that 40% of people who have a mortgage had credit card debt, while 32% said they didn't.
