(Washington Post front page) Why buying a house feels so painful now — and your parents may not understand

Alexander Hermann, a researcher at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said median homes used to cost three times the median income or less in 75 of the nation’s largest 100 housing markets in 1990. Ask The Post AIDive deeper

Today, that’s true in only three out of 100 markets.

According to data provided to The Washington Post by the Harvard center, the average price-to-income ratio of homes shot up in the 2000s when interest rates were low. Amid today’s high rates, it hasn’t come down. It’s much harder to afford a house with a high interest rate when the house itself is far pricier.

“By price-to-income and other metrics, home buying was a lot more affordable, even if interest rates were high,” Hermann said, noting that even a low rate that makes the monthly payment manageable wouldn’t help prospective buyers who can’t afford the down payment on a house five times their income.

“The difference between now and the ’70s and ’80s … is that prices were definitely lower then, and the supply challenges were not the same,” Hermann said.

Read it all.

Page One:“.. median homes used to cost three times the median income or less in 75 of the nation’s largest 100 housing markets in 1990.Today, that’s true in only three out of 100 markets.”@washingtonpost https://t.co/mXIUisNcXg

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) October 19, 2026