Thus, the 22% increase in monthly housing costs over the past three years should not be too surprising.

For this analysis, I am measuring "monthly housing cost" by determining the mortgage payment amount (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) for a median priced home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, if a buyer were financing 80% of the purchase price and paying Harrisonburg real estate taxes.

Looking forward, I would expect that all three of these factors (prices, interest rates, tax rates) that influence housing costs would likely continue to increase.