The average homeowner household makes more than the average. Many people are not homeowners.

For example if you are 22 and just started your first job you are included in the statistics but I think we wouldn’t really expect it to be affordable to become a homeowner (nor would it be desirable from a labor mobility standpoint).

And many people prefer renting somewhere like Manhattan to buying in Topeka. So it doesn’t make sense to assume everyone wants to buy a house. I know several millionaires that rent.

It would be better to compare overall cost of housing to income.