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Report: The Cost of Buying a Home Reaches All-Time High in U.S.

A report from real estate real estate company Redfin found the median home price in the U.S. hit a new record in a four-week period ending April 21.

Posted April 25, 2024

A new report from real estate company Redfin shows buying a home in the U.S. now costs more than ever following rates for an average 30-year fixed mortgage surpasses 7 percent.

The median U.S. home sale price hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, a 5.2 percent increase year-over-year, according to a press release from Redfin. Additionally, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) reached 7.1 percent, the highest rate since November 2023.

These factors drove up the median monthly housing payment to another record of $2,843, up 13 percent year-over-year.

In March, the median sales price for a home in Heartland MLS, a real estate agency overseeing activity across 39 counties in Kansas and Missouri, reached $292,250, a 4.7 percent increase compared to last year.

More median sales price for a home in the Kansas City area for the month of March, by county, according to the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors:

Missouri

County Median Sales Price (2023) Median Sales Price (2024) Percentage Change
Jackson $230,000 $250,000 + 8.7%
Platte $374,000 $360,000 – 3.7%
Clay $305,000 $315,000 + 3.3%
Cass $287,500 $310,250 + 7.9%

Kansas

County Median Sales Price (2023) Median Sales Price (2024) Percentage Change
Wyandotte $199,500 $215,000 + 7.8%
Leavenworth $260,000 $312,500 + 20.2%
Johnson $422,475 $445,000 + 5.3%

“My advice for serious buyers who can afford today’s costs is to shop for your dream home and accept that this year is probably not the time to find a dream deal,” Chen Zhao, economic research lead at Redfin said. “Price growth may cool slightly in the coming months if mortgage rates stay high or rates might fall slightly—but overall housing costs are likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.”