The monthly mortgage payment (P&I) for purchases of the median priced existing U.S. home (NAR) with a 20% down payment & average 30-year mortgage rate was $2,351 in August 2023 – up 140.6% since March 2020.

The average hourly rate for all U.S. employees (BLS) has risen 21.7% since March 2020.

Here in my neck of the woods (San Diego), the minimum household income needed to buy the median priced existing home is ~ $275,000 per year.

How the Times have Changed

When I graduated from college in 1969, I could have landed a good entry-level job and bought a nice 3 BR home less than one mile from the beach in the town I grew up in for ~ $60,000.

Chart courtesy of Michael McDonough (Twitter)