In a survey conducted by the National Association for Home Builders (NAHB), 59 percent of would-be homebuyers said $249,000 was their limit to spend on a new home, but 65 percent of the homes begun in 2015 were over that limit. According to what builderonline tells MHProNews, 31 percent set their limit at $150,000, while one in six thinks $100,000 is their upper limit for a new home.

NAHB Economist Paul Emrath says the median price of a new single-family home in 2015 was $298,000, while the “expects-to-pay” median came in at $219,000, indicating the mismatch between what survey respondents said and what is being built and sold. Numbers are based on data from the U. S. Census Characteristics of New Housing for 2015.

Even as the high-priced homes market is slowing, builders are finding it difficult to bring in a single-family home for under $249,000, much less the $150,000 that 31 percent of the respondents were hoping for. Any new home below $150,000 in site built is all but impossible.

$150,000 would buy a lovely manufactured home. ##

(Graph credit: builderonline based on U. S. Census data)