WORDS I LIKE — Focus on what you can control.
Last week I posted a graphic about fixing affordability.
Three levers: rate, price, income.
It got more attention than almost anything I've shared this year.
Here's the part the graphic didn't show.
Your gap. Your numbers. Your levers.
The Number That Actually Matters
Affordability comes down to three moving parts: rate, price, and income. Move one enough, and the math works. Move none, and it doesn't.
In Denver, a median single-family home runs $675,000, per DMAR — Denver's realtor association. Mortgage News Daily has the 30-year rate at 6.81% this week. Together, that creates a real, calculable gap.
Most people wait for one lever to move enough to fix it — rates to drop, prices to correct, a raise. The smarter move is knowing your numbers well enough to see which combination closes your gap.
On these numbers, the monthly gap runs over $1,200. No lever closes it alone. Rate would need to fall by more than half. Price would need to drop by a third. Income would need to rise by more than half.
That's not a reason to give up on buying. It's a reason to know your specific gap before you decide which combination makes sense for you. I built a calculator that runs this math on your numbers, not the market's — link below.
Run your own numbers: Affordability Calculator
THIS WEEK'S TAKEAWAY
Know your gap before you bet on one lever to fix it.
Want Clarity On Your Numbers?
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PS
Reply with 'rate,' 'price,' or 'income' — whichever lever you'd move first if you could.
No spam. No sales pitches. Just clarity.
— Neil Christiansen, Certified Mortgage Advisor
