It just got more difficult to become a homeowner.

A first-time homebuyer would have to earn close to $64,500 − or 13% more from a year earlier − to afford a “starter home,” according to a new analysis from Redfin.

The typical starter home sold for a record $243,000 in June, up 2.1% from a year earlier and up more than 45% from before the pandemic.

Low housing inventory levels are causing home prices of lower-priced homes despite rising mortgage rates due to intense competition, say experts.

However, in three metros including San Francisco, Austin Texas, and Phoenix, a homebuyer could get away by earning a little less (anywhere between 1% to 4.5%) than the previous year and still afford a home. Whereas, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a homebuyer would need to earn 28% more than last year to gain a foothold in the housing market.

“Buyers searching for starter homes in today’s market are on a wild goose chase because in many parts of the country, there’s no such thing as a starter home anymore,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari.

The analysis defines “affordable” or “starter” homes as homes estimated to be in the 5th-35th percentile by sale price. It factors how much annual income is needed to afford a starter home if a buyer taking out a mortgage spends no more than 30% of their income on their housing payment.

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New listings of starter homes for sale dropped 23% from a year earlier in June, the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic. The total number of starter homes on the market is down 15%, also the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic.

Limited listings and still-rising prices have caused sales of starter homes to drop 17% year over year in June.

In some metro markets, though, first-time buyers don’t need to earn as much as they did a year ago to afford a starter home.

San Francisco, Austin and Phoenix: The only three major US metros where prices declined

A homebuyer in San Francisco must earn $241,200 to afford the typical “starter” home, down 4.5% ($11,300) from a year earlier. Austin buyers must earn $92,000, down 3.3% year over year, and Phoenix buyers must earn $86,100, down about 1%. Those are also the metros where prices of starter homes have declined most, with median sale prices down 13.3% to $910,000 in San Francisco, down 12.2% to $347,300 in Austin, and down 9.7% to $325,000 in Phoenix.

Starter-home prices are falling in those three metros after skyrocketing in 2020 and 2021.