Mortgage rates are nearing 8%. In the past three months, prices have risen steadily. There were fewer homes on the market in September than ever before. The number of homes sold just fell to its lowest level in 13 years. The housing market is terrible at the moment.

The bad news for homebuyers is that none of this is expected to change anytime soon. Rates may rise even more if prices remain high, inventory remains low, and inventory stays low.

Many would-be homebuyers are keeping out of the market due to the current housing market’s crushing affordability. This situation has steadily worsened over the last two years.

With the average 30-year fixed rate loan at 7.63%, according to Freddie Mac, it now takes a monthly principal and interest payment of $2,528 to afford a median-priced home with a 20% down payment, according to ICE Mortgage Technology, which recently acquired mortgage data provider Black Knight.

According to ICE, that is up 91% from two years ago and an increase of $1,204 a month.

According to ICE, an average-priced home now requires 40% of the median household income, making housing the least affordable since 1984.

“During the last time home affordability was this tight, interest rates were 13.6% – roughly 6 points higher than today – and the average home price was about 3.5 times the median household income,” said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research at ICE Mortgage Technology. After years of low interest rates, the average home today costs six times the median income after years of low rates.

A combination of a 37% decline in home prices, a 4 percentage point drop in mortgage rates, or a 60% growth in median household income would bring affordability back to long-term averages, he said.