As a major housing affordability bill remains stalled in Washington, U.S. home prices have climbed to a record high.
The median price for existing homes reached $440,660 in June, a 1.8% increase from $432,700 during the same month last year, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Prices have now risen for 36 consecutive months.
“Housing affordability remains low under slowing wage growth and stronger home price growth,” Ershang Liang, an economist with PNC Economics Research, wrote in a report.
Other key takeaways from NAR’s latest housing market report include:
The numbers highlight the deepening affordability squeeze confronting buyers across the country. Home values have generally marched upward for decades, with the sharpest reversal occurring during the housing collapse that helped spark the 2008-09 financial crisis. Prices then surged during the pandemic, when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates aggressively to stabilize the economy.
Now, even lower-priced homes traditionally targeted at first-time buyers are out of reach for many households. Fewer than 40% of non-homeowner households can afford a typical starter home priced around $200,000, according to LendingTree. Redfin has estimated that buyers need an annual income of about $117,000 to afford the average home.
The market has cooled since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from their pandemic-era lows. Existing-home sales were mostly stagnant last year and remained near a 30-year low. During the first half of 2026, seasonally adjusted sales of existing homes were up just 0.7% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Bipartisan bill awaits Trump’s signature
The latest uptick in residential real estate costs comes after lawmakers last month passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The legislation would implement a range of policies to lower home prices, including removing regulatory barriers to construction, restricting institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes and encouraging zoning reforms to accelerate homebuilding.
Although Congress approved the bill in a rare show of bipartisan support, it remains hung up in Washington, D.C. President Trump in late June canceled a planned signing ceremony for the measure, saying he would not sign the legislation until lawmakers pass an elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.
The fate of the housing bill remains unclear. Under the Constitution, a bill that has passed both chambers of Congress and has been presented to the president automatically becomes law if he doesn’t sign or veto it within 10 days (excluding Sundays), as long as lawmakers are in session.
Aimee Picchi
contributed to this report.
