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A recent Zillow analysis suggests it would take a drop of more than one percentage point—to 4.43%—for the median-income U.S. homebuyer to comfortably afford the median-priced U.S. home. And that assumes a 20% down payment, which many first-time buyers are unable to make.

Even more striking, in several high-cost coastal metros, not even a 0% mortgage rate would make the median-priced local home affordable for a household earning the local median income. This includes New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose, where taxes, insurance, and maintenance on a median-priced home alone can often consume more than 10% of a median household’s income.

On the

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