Housing in Anchorage last year was the least affordable in two decades, state data shows. The statewide average mortgage payment has risen 52% since 2018, and rents have climbed 24%.
Last year in Anchorage, housing reached its least affordable level in the last 21 years — worse even than during the Great Recession over a decade ago,provided by Alaska Housing Finance Corp. The average mortgage payment — principal loan amount plus interest, but excluding property taxes, insurance and other costs — rose by 52% between 2018 and 2024.
Among economists, there isn’t a broadly used definition of a “housing crisis,” nor is there a defined level of ideal affordability, said Rob Kreiger, an economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development who authored the May report. According to the National Association of Homebuilders’ chief economist, more than 86% of residents can’t afford the cost of a newly constructed home in Anchorage.State economists measure home purchase affordability with the Alaska Affordability Index, a calculation that uses the average mortgage payment and average monthly wages to determine how much income it takes to afford a home.
The Anchorage-specific data only dates back to 2002, and housing last year was at its least-affordable level in that timespan.What the state data doesn’t show or quantify is how the rapid increases in housing costs are impacting everyday residents, Delfino and Kreiger said in separate interviews. “We all know that Alaska has a problem with keeping young people. If there’s nowhere to live for young people, if it’s difficult to find a long-term rental in Anchorage, young people are going to keep leaving,” McDowell said.
But for many residents, it’s unlikely wages will increase quickly enough in the near term to make up the difference, Kreiger said.
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