Bottom Line; Affording A Montana Home is Incredibly Hard

For a lot of people the purchase of a home is the biggest purchase they may ever make in their lives. If you think that being able to afford to purchase a home seems impossible for a lot of people these days, you may be right. According to a new study, the numbers are proving that it may even be harder than some people realize.

Recent Study Shows Just How Hard it is to Buy A Home

A recent study by ATTOM shows how home affordability has gotten even more difficult in the third quarter of 2023. According to their findings:

Home Affordability Report showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos are less affordable in the third quarter of 2023 compared to historical averages in 99 percent of counties around the nation with enough data to analyze.

With the price of homes increasing and the interest rates at where they are, it is more difficult for people to be able to purchase a home. Those two factors combined are helping to push the portion of average wages required for major home owner expenses up to 35%. Most lenders need that percentage to be 28% debt to income ratio.

Get our free mobile app

Montana Home Buying Stats

Taking a look at the few Montana cities that they have listed on their report, all of them exceed the debt-to-income ratio that lenders prefer of 28% in order to purchase a home.

• Billings percentage of annualized wages to buy a home is 42.5%
• Bozeman percentage of annualized wages to buy a home is 64.4%
• Kalispell percentage of annualized wages to buy a home is 66.9%
• Missoula percentage of annualized wages to buy a home is 62.2%

Home Ownership Difficulty Isn't Just a Montana Issue

The report also states that the price of homes is growing faster than wages in almost half of the United States. The difficulty of being a home owner isn't just a Montana issue, it is a national issue.