09/03/2026
The Affordability Plateau — And What It Means - The Momentum Slows: As of August 2026, the Affordability Index stands at 87, up 2.4% from August 2025 (when it was 85). That's not a meaningful gain year-over-year — and it's also a step back from the January peak of 93. It suggests the sharp recovery we saw in early 2026 may have hit a ceiling.
To recap: An index of 87 means that median household income in the Triangle is 87% of what's needed to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home at today's rates.
What Changed (And What Didn't): The 30-year fixed averaged 6.01% in late February 2026. Since then, rates have remained stubbornly flat, ranging between 5.8% and 6.1%.
Median active list prices have moved from $365,000 in January 2025 to $370,000 in January 2026 to $410,000 in August 2026. That's a 3.5% climb since last year — modest but holding the gains.
The Current Market in Numbers:
Active inventory in August 2026: ~12,342 listings
Months of supply: Still 4.2 months
Days on market: Got as low as 22 in May, now back to 34 days
Sale-to-list price ratio: 96.2%
The story here: We're in a genuinely better place for buyers than we were two years ago, but the market is no longer accelerating in their favor. It's stabilized at a level that's buyer-friendly without being a buyer's market.
The Bottom Line:
The Triangle's housing affordability story has shifted from "accelerating recovery" to "stable improvement." We're not gaining ground as quickly as we were in early 2026, but we're not losing it either.
The affordability recovery is real, but it’s persistently under 100, so unaffordable. The number is one measure, but we’re talking about “degrees of unaffordable."
Written by Matt Fowler, CEO, Doorify
