US home prices continued to climb in April, extending the affordability crisis for first-time buyers

Rising US home prices are heightening the housing affordability crisis for Americans, especially first-time buyers.

Rising US home prices are heightening the housing affordability crisis for Americans, especially first-time buyers. The median price of a previously owned home in the US grew 5.7% from a year earlier to $407,600, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday. That was the fourth consecutive monthly increase and was a record for April prices. NAR also reported that existing home sales, which make up the vast majority of transactions, fell 1.9% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million. Sales fell in April for the second month in a row as mortgage rates surged past 7%. One shred of good news for housing in America, however, is that more homes are continuing to come to market. “The upper-end market is experiencing a sizable gain due to more supply coming onto the market,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a release. He added that “home prices reaching a record high for the month of April is very good news for homeowners.”