Burdened with high prices and mortgage rates, prospective homebuyers are continuing to face an uphill battle finding a home in the local housing market, write Aaron Moselle and Kenny Cooper for the WHYY. 

Over the last year, affording a typical home in the Philadelphia suburbs has become even more daunting. 

The median sale price of a “starter home” in Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery counties is currently $315,000. This means first-time buyers have to make at least $75,849 annually to be able to buy and keep a typical starter home. About four years ago, they would have needed about half as much. 

Among the reasons for high home prices is the previously unseen inventory crisis Philadelphia and its collar counties are facing due to homeowners staying put instead of selling and buying new homes with a more expensive mortgage. 

Currently, a 30-year fixed mortgage has an average rate of around seven percent, which is the highest in over two decades. 

As a result, the spring home-buying season is expected to be sluggish for the second consecutive year. 

“It was bad last year, and it’s bad this year,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. 

Read more about the local housing market in the WHYY. 

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