![Mortgage rates hit at a 23-year high of nearly 8% [7.79] in October of last year, following a period of rapidly rising inflation rates.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fe55547/2147483647/strip/true/crop/912x608+0+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F82%2Fb0%2F30fe130b4352b58d5ad9626d16dd%2Fhome-ownership-tpr-photo.png)
Affording a home is becoming increasingly difficult in Texas and across the U.S. That’s according to a 26-page report from the Texas Comptroller's Office. As Marian Navarro with Texas Public Radio reports, the Housing Affordability Challenge report found median home prices in the state rose 40% between 2019 and 2023.
Mortgage rates also hit at a 23-year high of nearly 8% [7.79] in October of last year, following a period of rapidly rising inflation rates.
The report also says an under-investment of housing in Texas has led to a lack of housing supply that is harmful to lower and middle-income buyers ... as well as first-time buyers. It explains that the state had 306,000 homes short of what was needed in 2023.
