Even as home price gains have slowed, buying a house doesn’t appear to be getting any easier.

Homebuyer affordability slid in June for the fifth consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors’ latest housing affordability index.

Based on the median price of a single-family house, $446,400, and the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 6.57%, the income needed to qualify for a mortgage was $109,152 last month, according to the index. The formula also assumes the buyer makes a 20% down payment.

Affordability has been sliding since January, when the median home price was $398,200, the average rate was 6.19% and the income needed to qualify for a mortgage was $93,552, according to the index. 

However, compared with June 2025, “affordability [last month] was actually slightly better, as income growth outpaced home price appreciation and mortgage rates were modestly lower,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. In June 2025, rates were higher — 6.9% — and $110,928 in income was needed to qualify for a mortgage.

Mortgage rates had dipped below 6% in late February, but the onset of the Iran war and the accompanying specter of inflation pushed rates higher, experts say.

The latest inflation reading, based on the consumer price index, showed an annual increase of 3.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That matches the current annual growth in average hourly wages, BLS data shows, which generally means workers’ pay increases are getting eaten up by inflation.

Additionally, home prices typically rise from winter to mid-summer as buying activity increases, Yun said.

While the median price of an existing home of any type reached an all-time high of $440,600 in June — 49.2% higher than in June 2020 — increases in prices have slowed, according to NAR data. June’s median is 1.8% higher than a year earlier — far below the double-digit annual increases seen during the pandemic housing boom.

Additionally, some markets are more affordable than others. Generally speaking, the Midwest and the South are more affordable than the Northeast and the West, according to the NAR index.

“Buyers in most markets will find prices still climbing, but at a pace that leaves more room for incomes to catch up than in prior years,” said Mischa Fisher, chief economist for Zillow, in a recent blog post.

Meanwhile, the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law July 11 and is intended to increase the housing supply and…

Mortgage rates rose last week to the highest level since August 2025, and that caused homebuyer demand for loans to pull back. Refinance demand, however, moved higher.

Total mortgage application volume dropped 2.7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.65% from 6.58% last week, with points rising to 0.67 from 0.64, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 7% from the previous week and were 2% lower than the same week one year ago. Buyers are still contending with high home prices as well as lean supply of affordable homes for sale.

Applications to refinance a home loan increased 4% for the week and were 7% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year, rates were just 17 basis points higher, so there is not a lot of incentive for most borrowers to refinance. The percentage gains are likely because there is such a small pool to begin with, and some borrowers are doing cash-out refinances to take advantage of big gains in home equity.

“Despite higher mortgage rates, refinance applications increased, led by FHA and VA refinance applications rising 9 and 10 percent, respectively,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, in a release.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.2% of total applications from 40.6% the previous week.

Mortgage rates jumped higher to start this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily.

“The key contributor to the recent spike has been the uptick in fuel prices in July combined with the fact that rates never made it any lower than 6.52% over the past 2 months,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. “In other words, we were already in a high range and the uptick in fuel prices simply gave rates a push.”

Rates then recovered a little bit Tuesday after a read on inflation came in much lower than expected.

Bipartisan legislation intended to increase the U.S. housing supply and improve affordability is now law — but experts say homebuyers and sellers shouldn’t expect fast relief.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act automatically became law on Saturday after President Donald Trump neither signed it nor vetoed it within a set timeframe. The legislation combines dozens of housing measures aimed at encouraging home construction, expanding access to financing and restricting purchases by large institutional investors.

The legislation “will help expand the nation’s housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging local governments to reform zoning and land-use policies that have limited home building,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, in a statement after the measure cleared Congress on June 23.

The new law arrives as housing affordability remains strained. Home prices are near record highs and 30-year fixed mortgage rates continue to hover above 6.5%.

The median price of an existing home in the U.S. reached $440,600 in June, up 49.2% from June 2020, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. There’s also an estimated housing supply deficit of about 4 million homes, according to Realtor.com.

“This bill directly targets some of the biggest drivers of housing costs: land-use restrictions, permitting delays, financing constraints and regulatory hurdles,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, a real estate data company.

“Unfortunately, homebuyers should not expect immediate relief,” Hepp said, adding that “housing development takes time and many of the benefits would likely materialize gradually rather than overnight.”

Supporters say the measure could help limit competition from large corporate buyers in some housing markets, particularly in parts of the Sun Belt where institutional investors have been blamed for contributing to higher home prices. Economists, however, say institutional investors’ purchase activity remains relatively light even in many of those markets.

Newly minted Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh sought early on to put to rest concerns that he might be less hawkish than his predecessors on inflation. 

“It’s the most regressive tax that anyone in Washington could come up with,” he said at his Senate confirmation hearing on April 22. “If you were trying to do the most harm to the least well off among us, inflation would be the way to do it.” 

And with inflation now running at the highest rate in three years, some states are doing more harm than others. 

The cost of living is an important consideration when companies decide where to do business. A high cost of living can make it hard to attract workers. It also means they’ll have to pay them more. 

That is why CNBC considers Cost of Living as one of ten categories of competitiveness in our America’s Top States for Business study, now in its 20th year.  

We rate the states based on an index of prices for a broad range of goods and services calculated by the Council for Community and Economic Research. We also consider housing affordability for both homeowners and renters. And, with the insurance crisis persisting nationwide, we measure the cost to insure a median-priced home based on the most recent available data. Under this year’s methodology, Cost of Living is worth 2% of each state’s total score. 

Some states are relative bargains. The following states are not.  

These are America’s most expensive states, along with average prices of some basic items in key metro areas. 

Illinois 

If the most famous Illinois resident were alive today, the cost of housing would utterly shock his log cabin sensibilities. Nearly a third of residents in the Land of Lincoln are paying more than 30% of their monthly income for housing, according to Census Bureau and ATTOM Data Solutions figures. And rent is more than 40% higher than it is in Ohio. The 2027 fiscal year budget signed by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker in June allocates $100 million toward affordable housing programs and another $50 million toward down payment assistance. 

2026 Cost of Living score: 17 out of 50 points (Top States grade: D+) 

Consumer Price Index (May, Midwest Region, year-over-year): +5% 

Average rent (3-bedroom home): $2,425 

Average home price (Chicago): $642,053 

Monthly energy bill: $188.44 

Dozen eggs (Q1 2026): $4.04 

Loaf of bread (Q1 2026): $4.04 

New York 

Start spreadin’ the news — though it’s not news to anyone who lives in New York. The Empire State is an incredibly expensive place to live. The average home price in Manhattan is easily the highest in the nation at $2.9 million in the first quarter of this year, according to C2ER, which notes that the average apartment rent in the city is closing in on $6,000 a month. Even factoring in the…

High mortgage rates coupled with record-high prices are causing homebuyers to pull back.

Sales of previously owned homes in June dropped 2.4% from May to 4.09 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Housing analysts were predicting a slight gain month over month.

June sales were, however, 2.8% higher than the same month a year prior.

“The back-and-forth in monthly home sales activity, driven by mild fluctuations in mortgage rates, shows how sensitive home buyers are to affordability conditions,” said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, in a release. “However, job gains—more than half a million since the beginning of the year—will continue to provide support for the housing market.”

This count represents closed sales, so contracts that were likely signed in May, when the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was still moving higher. It began rising sharply at the start of March at the beginning of the Iran war.

Inventory at the end of June was 1.56 million units, down 0.6% from May but 1.3% higher than June 2025. At the current sales pace, that represents a 4.6-month supply. The market is considered balanced between buyer and seller at a six-month supply.

With the market still lean, prices continue to rise. The median price of an existing home sold in June was $440,600, an increase of 1.8% from the year before and the highest on record. June is usually the strongest month for both sales and prices.

“Progress on long-term housing affordability could be hampered if inventory growth continues to stall. Without consistent gains in inventory, home prices can accelerate. It is critical to introduce more supply to the market to widen the opportunity for homeownership,” Yun said.

Sales continue to be strongest on the higher end of the market. Sales of homes priced below $100,000 were down 1.7% from a year ago, and sales of those priced between $100,000 and $250,000 were up less than 1%. Meanwhile sales of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million were up nearly 14% from the year before, and sales of homes priced above $1 million were up 18%.

Regionally, home sales were down in June month over month everywhere except in the Northeast.

One-quarter of all sales were all-cash, down from 29% last year. First-time buyers made up 33% of sales, up from 30% a year ago.

Mortgage rates have been hovering in a tight range for more than a month, and that range is on the relatively high side. As a result, mortgage demand isn’t moving much either.

Total mortgage application volume dropped 2.2% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. An additional adjustment was made for the Independence Day holiday.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.58% from 6.57% last week, with points decreasing to 0.64 from 0.65, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.

Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 4% for the week and were 8% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year at this time the rate on the 30-year fixed was just 19 basis points higher. Most lenders say that unless a borrower can cut at least 3/4 of a percentage point off their rate, the cost of the refinance isn’t worth it.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1% for the week and were 5% higher than the same week one year ago. Buyers are starting to get more leverage in the market, as inventory increases and homes sit for longer. More agents are now saying that the market is balanced, after several years of it being a seller’s advantage.

While overall mortgage demand is down, products offering lower down payments are gaining steam.

“Government purchase volume increased modestly, led by a 5 percent gain in VA purchase applications, while conventional purchase activity declined. Refinance application volume was down 4 percent, as homeowners saw little enticement to act with rates still elevated,” said Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the MBA, in a release.

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher to start this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. The Iran war came back into the news headlines Tuesday, with reports suggesting that the U.S. could once again stop Iran from exporting oil.

“Rising oil prices imply higher inflation. Higher inflation leads to higher rates, all else equal,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

A month after the passage of a tax on second homes in New York City, sales of luxury real estate remain strong and inventory is falling, according to brokers and analysts.

When New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature approved the so-called pied-à-terre tax on May 27, real estate agents and developers predicted an immediate impact. Brokers said the New York wealthy would flee to Florida, developers said they would halt new projects and real estate lobbyists predicted declines in employment. Many cited what they called “the Mamdani effect,” referring to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and potential wealth flight from taxes.

“The tax on second homes will dampen market activity, reduce property values, hurt new development and weaken the city’s economy,” the Real Estate Board of New York said in a statement soon after the measure passed.

Yet sales of luxury apartments show little signs of weakness. There were 126 contracts signed for apartments priced at $4 million or more in June, up from 124 during the same four-week period last year, according to Olshan Realty.

The average price of a Manhattan apartment reached its second-highest level ever during the second quarter, up 5% over the past year to roughly $2.2 million, according to Brown Harris Stevens. Sales of condos priced between $10 million and $20 million surged 55%, according to Compass. Sales of condos over $20 million were up 33%, with average asking prices up 14%, the real estate brokerage said. 

The deals in June included an $80 million duplex penthouse in a new condo building near Manhattan’s West Village, a $26 million condo downtown and a $22 million co-op on the Upper East Side. Brokers say that while some buyers were initially spooked by the tax, the flood of liquidity from recent initial public offerings and soaring wealth from asset prices has outweighed their fears.

“The amount of money out there is insane,” said Lauren Muss of Douglas Elliman, who had a $17.5 million condo listing go to contract in June. “We’re seeing big things come to us every day. It’s only getting stronger.”

It’s too early to judge the long-term impacts of the tax, of course. And real estate lawyers say there will be years of litigation related to valuations, co-op boards, residency status and other issues related to the new tax. While Hochul and Mamdani have said the tax will raise $500 million a year, the New York City Comptroller estimates it will raise about $340 million to $380 million.

Yet top brokers said the pied-à-terre tax fears are quickly subsiding. The surcharge, imposed on non-primary residences valued by the city at more than $1…