First-time buyers need extra $45,000 per year to afford the average home

A new study by Clever Real Estate found that first-time buyers must earn nearly $120,000 annually to afford a 10% down payment on the median-priced home of $332,494. That poses a problem for the average American household, which earns less than $75,000 a year.

Although the housing market has cooled since its peak in 2022, Americans continue to face challenges when buying a home.

With stagnant wages, soaring housing costs, and an inflation rate that isn’t falling as quickly as the Federal Reserve hoped, prospective homeowners have many hard financial decisions to make if they look to buy.