We analyze public federal datasets — HMDA lending records, CFPB complaints, Census income and home-price data — and publish what they show, with every figure sourced and dated. No spin, just the numbers.
Can a median-income household afford the median-priced U.S. home — and how has that changed over time?
What salary does the median-listed home take in each state — and do households there earn it?
What share of mortgage applications get approved — in each state and for each loan program?
Approval rate = loans originated ÷ (originated + denied). Withdrawn and incomplete files are left out.
Which lenders and servicers draw the most complaints, what borrowers report, and how disputes end.
A complaint is the borrower's account, not a verified violation, and counts are complaints, not people. Large servicers draw more partly because they handle more loans.
Every report on this page is built from primary public data, not third-party summaries. We pull the raw series and records, aggregate them ourselves, show our method on each report and date every pull so you can check our work. Each dataset below has its own period — a quarterly price and this week's rate are not from the same date, so each is labeled.
Two of the reports estimate the income needed to buy a home on different bases. The affordability index uses the Census median sales price and counts principal and interest only; the state report uses Realtor.com median listing prices and adds property tax and insurance. That is why the U.S. figure is $91,349 in one and $115,805 in the other.
| Dataset | Publisher | Used in | Latest period | Publishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sales price of houses sold | Census Bureau (MSPUS), via FRED | Affordability index | Q3 2026 | Quarterly |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate | Freddie Mac PMMS, via FRED | Affordability index; income by state | Week of Nov 5, 2026 | Weekly (Thursdays) |
| Median household income, U.S. | Census Bureau (CPS), via FRED | Affordability index | 2025 | Annually (September) |
| Median listing price, U.S. and states | Realtor.com, via FRED | Income by state | Oct 2026 | Monthly |
| Median household income by state | Census Bureau SAIPE, via FRED | Income by state | 2024 | Annually (December) |
| Property tax and insurance by state | Census Bureau ACS microdata | Income by state; affordability index (second index) | 2024 | Annually |
| Mortgage applications and decisions | HMDA data, FFIEC / CFPB | Approval rates | 2025 | Annually (spring) |
| Mortgage complaints | CFPB Consumer Complaint Database | Complaints | Through Nov 6, 2026 | Daily (we pull weekly) |
You're welcome to cite any figure with a link to the report it comes from. The full list of data behind the site — rates, loan limits, lender pricing — is on our methodology page.
Have a data question we should answer? These reports feed our rates pages and calculators — start with your own numbers and come back for the market context.