Home Buying

It took Mass. buyers years longer to save up for a home in 2022 than in 1970

A new report from RealtyHop says it can take someone with the median family income nearly twice as many years to save up for a median-value home here.

The housing affordability gap was higher in Massachusetts than in all but nine states and the District of Columbia. Nathan Howard/Bloomberg

By Victor Stefanescu

February 26, 2024

2 minutes to read

Does it really cost buyers more of their income to buy a home today than their parents and grandparents?

A Feb. 22 report from RealtyHop says that in 2022, it took a family with the median income nearly twice as long to save up for a median-value home in Massachusetts compared with buyers in 1970, outpacing the national trend.

In the United States, the real estate technology platform reported, the “housing multiple” — how many years of income it would take to purchase a home — rose from 1.77 in 1970 to 3.04 in 2022 for a median value home: a 71.8% change in affordability for households with median family income.

In Massachusetts, there was a 107.9% shift: from 1.9 years of income to purchase a home in 1970 to 3.95 years in 2022. The study calculated the housing multiples using census data, dividing the median owner home value in every state by the median family income in each.

The study added to others signaling that the Bay State isn’t very friendly for young buyers.

The median sales price for a single-family home in Massachusetts jumped 10.2% in January to $550,000, a new high for the month, according to a report The Warren Group released earlier this month.

Real estate marketplace Point2 reported on Jan. 18 that it’s harder for prospective Gen Z home shoppers to buy a property in Boston than in all but two major Northeast cities. The report ranked Boston No. 88 out of 102 major cities.

According to the RealtyHop study, the median family income in Massachusetts rose from $10,833 in 1970 to $122,530 in 2022. In the same period, the study reported, the median home value increased from $20,600 to $483,900. Here’s how our New England neighbors fared:

	Conn.	Maine	N.H.	R.I.	Vt.
Median Family Income 1970	$11,808	$11,057	$9,682	$9,487	$8,928
Median Family Income 2022	$115,539	$120,081	$113,605	$104,033	$97,153
Median Home Value 1970	$25,500	$18,700	$16,400	$18,200	$16,400
Median Home Value 2022	$323,700	$380,500	$337,100	$343,100	$272,400

Source: RealtyHop

The housing affordability gap — which RealtyHop calculated by finding the percentage increase of the housing multiple between 1970 and 2022 — was higher in Massachusetts (108%) than all but nine states and the District of Columbia. California topped the list with a gap of 192%.

The gap in Massachusetts was the highest in what the US Census Bureau considers the Northeast.

The study projected — using data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and the platform’s listings — that the state’s housing multiple increased to 6.41 in 2023, meaning it would take a household with a median family income 2.46 additional years to save up for a median value home in 2023 compared with 2022.

“While Census data has yet to be released for 2023, we thought it was important to include an analysis with updated prices, given the dramatic rise in home prices last year,” reads the report.