By National Mortgage Professional

ATTOM puts the income needed to afford a median-priced home at $90,191 — roughly $10,700 above average wages, despite lower prices

A $73,600 down payment still leaves the average worker short of the income needed to afford the nation’s median-priced home under ATTOM’s latest affordability calculation.

The national median home sales price fell to $368,000 in the third quarter of 2026, down from $375,000 a year earlier, according to ATTOM’s U.S. Home Affordability Report, released Oct. 22. Wage growth also outpaced home-price growth in a majority of the counties studied.

Yet buying that median-priced home with 20% down required annual income of $90,191 to keep major ownership expenses within 28% of income, the report’s affordability guideline. The average annual wage used in the analysis was $79,534.

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