Ways to Overcome Affordability Challenges in Today’s Housing Market

Here are three ways to overcome affordability challenge when buying a home in today’s market:

1. Expand your search
   With so few homes on the market right now, widening the scope of your search to include nearby areas could help you find more options in your budget.
   
2. Consider alternative financing options
   Work with a trusted lender to learn about different loan options to find out what’s right for you.
   
3. Search for down payment assistance
   There are more than 2,000 down payment assistance programs in the US.

If you’ve been searching for a home but are concerned about rising costs, make sure you are working with a team of trusted real estate professionals. 

So Why Does Buying a Home Make More Sense Than Renting in Today’s Market?

Rental affordability continues to be a challenge, as it has been for years. That’s because rent rates trend up over time. In March 2023, the U.S. rental market experienced single-digit growth for the eighth month in a row… The median asking rent was $1,732, up by $15 from last month and down by $32 from the peak but is still $354 (25.7%) higher than the same time in 2019 (pre-pandemic).

Your rent rate can increase at any point based off of economic conditions, whereas your mortgage stays the same and can even decrease monthly by refinancing. On average, borrowers who refinanced their 30-year fixed rate mortgage to another 30-year fixed rate mortgage to lower their mortgage rate (non cash-out refinancers) saved over $2,800 in mortgage payments (principal and interest) annually ($234 a month) by refinancing in 2020.