That price rose to $375,000 in the third quarter, the property analytics firm said Thursday. Attom based affordability on what it takes to achieve a front-end debt-to-income ratio of 28%, accounting for the loan payment, property taxes, homeowners and mortgage insurance.

Nationwide, those homeownership expenses exceed 43% of the typical income in a third of the nation's 580 largest counties, Attom said. The housing market remains plagued by steep affordability hurdles despite mortgage rate softening in recent weeks.

"The more favorable loan rates could also enable prices to keep rising and further extend this two-and-a-half-year streak we're in of homes being less affordable to the typical resident of an area than they historically have been," said Rob Barber, CEO of Attom, in a press release. 

Although buyers outnumber sellers in today's market, the median $375,000 price tag rose 2% quarterly and 4.8% from the same time last year. Prices rose annually in 75% of the counties in Attom's analysis, with the Cleveland and Atlanta regions recording double-digit gains. 

Where homes are the most, least affordable

Typical homeownership costs were $2,123 per borrower in the third quarter, up 6% from last year. 

Labor market woes may intensify the affordability crisis. The median home price rose faster than residents' wages in 50% of the counties Attom analyzed, greater than last year's 34.9% mark. Since 2020, home values have risen 58%, compared to wages rising just 28%. 

Twelve counties across California and New York were among the top 25 nationwide where homeownership required the highest percentage of a resident's wages. In Kings County, New York, which spans Brooklyn, the median home price required 113% of a typical resident's wages to cover home expenses. 

That ratio also exceeded 100% in three California counties, led by Santa Cruz (111.8%). Meanwhile the highest income requirement to afford a local median-priced home was $399,827 in the Bay Area's San Mateo County.

Some of the nation's largest housing markets today offer relative deals with median-priced homes allowing for residents to spend less than 28% of their wages on mortgage costs. Those include Houston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Detroit, as Wayne County, Michigan requires the typical earner to spend just 17% of their wages on their home.

More rural regions allow for homeowners to earn far less, led by Cambria County in Southwest Pennsylvania where a local wage earner needs just $17,695 to afford the median-priced home.