09/02/2025
In July 2025, Zillow reported that affordable home listings reached their highest count since August 2022, with roughly 439,000 homes qualifying as affordable to median-income buyers. That’s a 20% year-over-year increase, signaling a slight inventory recovery.
Still, only 31.7% of active listings are truly affordable, down from over 50% in 2020. While Midwest metros like Buffalo and Pittsburgh offer over 50% affordability, coastal cities like Los Angeles remain dire, with just 3% of listings falling within reach of the average buyer.
Zillow warns that significant affordability improvements will require large-scale policy changes or a major economic shift. For now, the modest gains in housing accessibility remain regionally dependent and highly uneven.