First Time Homebuyers Squeezed Out of the Market

As home prices soar, housing affordability is sinking to the lowest levels since 2008 and first-time buyers - who haven't benefited from rising home values and are also coping with rising rents - are being squeezed out.

First-time buyers accounted for 27% of existing home sales in January, according to the National Association of Realtors, near 2014 levels. With mortgage rates above 4%, around the highest in about three years, and expected to rise further, buyers on tight budgets may struggle even more to find homes they can afford.

• Reuters, March 13, 2022