The Economy Is Going Great, Except For One Huge Problem

Amid a recent spate of data showing the economy humming along smoothly, one sector has consistently stayed out of whack and it’s a big one: housing. At the heart of the problem is the fact that high prices and high mortgage rates have pushed the cost of buying a house out of reach for people with typical incomes who previously could afford the payments. A mortgage payment on the typical newly bought home would take up 42% of a household’s median income in August, up from 29% in January 2020