Swing State Home Buying Costs Nearly Doubled Since Last Election

Bad news for incumbents in the 2024 election. Housing costs in swing states have skyrocketed since the 2020 election.

A new report from Redfin found that housing payments have nearly doubled in states that will play a crucial role in deciding who controls the White House and Congress come November. The findings come as the presidential race rounds the corner into its final, critical weeks, and housing affordability continues to be top of mind for voters.

The surge in housing prices is ubiquitous across the political spectrum, the report finds. The median housing payment for homebuyers rose 95 percent in red states to $2,066, and jumped 83 percent in blue states to $3,311.

In the swing states, defined in the report as Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, the median payment ballooned 92 percent to $2,161. Using the benchmark that households should not spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, two thirds of the listings in those states are unaffordable for the typical family.

Using the same affordability metric, swing state families must now earn $86,421 to afford a house at the median price. While in 2020, the same cohort needed just $45,140 –– a dramatic increase in only four years.

President Joe Biden is also facing ire from real estate professionals who have expressed concerns over his pitch to cap annual rent increases at 5 percent for landlords who own more than 50 apartments across their portfolio.

“Rent control is a rare instance where the research is fairly conclusive: It doesn’t work,“ National Association of Realtors President Kevin Sears said in a statement. “These measures fail to improve most renters’ financial situation and shift the burden of economic difficulties, inflation and other costs onto the housing provider with no counterbalance.”

–– Kate Hinsche