1933: The Housing Affordability Crisis, Explained. Who Can Still Buy a Home?

If you’ve been scrolling listings at midnight, doing mental math on mortgage calculators, and wondering, “Wait…how is anyone actually buying a house right now?” you are not alone.

My guest today is Alex Gailey, personal finance reporter at Bankrate, and she’s been digging into the numbers behind America’s housing affordability crisis. Her reporting found something jaw-dropping: the typical U.S. household can’t afford three-quarters of the homes currently on the market.

In this conversation, we’re going to break down what’s driving the affordability squeeze — from the “lock-in effect” of hom...