It's almost impossible for first-time buyers to afford a home, top analyst says

• It's virtually impossible for first-time buyers to afford a home today, says Mark Zandi of Moody's.
• The surge in house prices and mortgage rates since the pandemic is pricing them out, he says. 
• An expanded low-income housing tax credit could spur building and help buyers, Zandi suggests.

Sky-high house prices and mortgage rates have dashed many Americans' dreams of owning their own home, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics says.

Prices rose about 5% last year, and are up nearly 50% over the past four years or so, Mark Zandi said in a X post on Sunday, citing his firm's repeat sales house price index.