‘The Big Money Show’ panel discusses federal housing official Bill Pulte raising the idea of ”portable mortgages” to boost home sales and revive the declining housing market.
The affordability crisis in the housing market spares no one. But rural America is feeling a special tension.
Prices in rural America continue to rise and incomes are lagging, according to a new report from Redfin. The convergence of both factors means that housing affordability is “eroding faster than that of large cities and suburbs.”
Homeowners need an annual income of $74,508 to afford a median-priced home in rural U.S. counties, a staggering 105.8% increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, rural buyers only had to make $36,206, according to Redfin’s analysis, which compares the third quarter of 2025 to the third quarter of 2019.
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The income needed to afford a median-priced home in suburban counties rose 90.9% to $102,120 during the same period. Previously, potential buyers only needed an annual salary of $53,482. The income needed to afford a home in urban counties rose 87.5% to $118,300. Buyers needed an annual salary of $63,103 before the pandemic.
A farm for sale in Rochester, Minnesota. (Educational Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A home is considered affordable if a buyer takes out a mortgage and spends no more than 30% of their income on their monthly housing costs, according to Redfin.
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House prices in rural areas have increased significantly, with the average sales price increasing by 60.5% compared to before the pandemic. Home sales prices are hovering around $280,900, which is a far cry from the $175,000 in 2019, according to the report. Meanwhile, the median household income in rural counties is around $69,307, which is only 33.3% more than before the pandemic.
There is a For Sale sign on the front lawn of a newly constructed home in Williston, North Dakota. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Sales prices in suburban counties rose 48.9% to $385,000, while urban counties saw a 46.2% gain with prices reaching $446,000. Suburban counties have seen a 36.8% increase in income and urban counties have seen a 39.3% increase.
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Millions of people have moved from big cities during the pandemic in search of more space. Remote working and record low mortgage rates have helped fuel this trend.
A home is considered affordable if a buyer takes out a mortgage and spends no more than 30% of their income on their monthly housing costs, according to Redfin. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
But the pandemic-related home-buying frenzy that swept through rural and suburban areas sent home prices soaring and left “communities grappling with an affordability crisis that continues today,” according to Redfin.
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Typically, rural areas have only a handful of homes for sale, Redfin said, meaning homebuyers are often competing with each other. But during the pandemic, the areas attracted many potential homebuyers from out of state. New Hampshire, for example, saw growing interest from buyers in New York, Texas, California and Seattle, often with larger budgets. This allowed sellers to jack up the asking price, win bidding wars and purchase properties in the Lakes Region, according to New Hampshire-based Redfin Premier real estate agent Julia Martinage.
“Many of those people are now moving back to where they came from and being replaced by locals or people from border states like Massachusetts,” Martinage said.
