John Pike’s biggest fear is ending up on the street.

For years, the retired 79-year-old Madison, Wisconsin, resident has barely made ends meet, with no discretionary income to speak of. Most of his Social Security check of $1,578 goes toward rent. At $1,220, that's more than 77% of his monthly income. Between the rising cost of food prices since the pandemic and his prescription medication, there’s hardly anything left.

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, home prices and housing affordability are emerging as hot issues in the swing states that will decide the election.

While the housing crisis is an issue across the country, an analysis of Realtor.com® affordability score data shows distinct trends separating red states, blue states, and the seven key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

On average, red states are more affordable than the US as a whole, and blue states are less affordable.

Gary and Karen Steppe listed a condo in Indialantic, Fla., in February for $294,900. They expected the two-bedroom vacation home, which is in an oceanside town near Melbourne Beach, to sell quickly. But the couple initially received no bids. 

One reason: A rising number of homeowners in the area were also looking to sell. With more properties on the market, “buyers didn’t have that fear of missing out like they did when the inventory was less,” Gary Steppe said. 

Many first time home buyers are struggling to break into the U.S. housing market as prices continue to rise.

Since 2019, home prices have surged 54 percent. In the last year, prices increased 5.8 percent — a more steady rise after the volatile years of the early pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of home value data from the mortgage technology division of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). But high interest rates, low inventory and years of price jumps continue to challenge Americans buying homes.

The Federal Reserve’s handling of rate cuts will play a vital role in the housing market’s affordability this year, but one expert says certain states are seeing "good" signs.

During an appearance on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast," Monday, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman discussed the state of the housing market and what the potentially "sticky" inflation data could mean for buyers and sellers.

"So, we saw the same phenomenon where rates started low in the first part of 2023, ticked up in the spring and then went higher in the summer," he said.

Prospective homebuyers are facing higher costs to finance a home with the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate moving above 7% this week to its highest level in nearly five months.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 7.1% from 6.88% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.39%.

When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford at a time when the U.S. housing market remains constrained by relatively few homes for sale and rising home prices.

The U.S. housing market is coming under renewed pressure, buffeted by mortgage rates that rose above 7% again and uncertainty over changes to the commission system for buying and selling a home.

The average rate on the standard 30-year fixed mortgage jumped by nearly a quarter percentage point to 7.1%, according to a survey of lenders released Thursday by mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac. That is the highest level since late 2023 and the largest weekly increase in nearly a year.

Mortgage rates climbed above 7% this week for the first time in 2024, continuing their upward trajectory and putting further pressure on the housing market.

Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 7.10% this week from 6.88% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.39% a year ago.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.39% from 6.16% last week. One year ago, the rate on the 15-year fixed note averaged 5.76%.

Existing home sales fell in March by the most in over a year as mortgage rates lurched upward amid higher inflation readings.

Existing home sales in March fell 4.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday, as higher mortgage rates priced out many would-be buyers and led many homeowners to avoid selling and having to reenter the home loan market.

The rate of home sales was down 3.7% from the year before.