"Highly Affordable"

Housing affordability remained near its highest level on record for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to the latest survey from the National Association of Home Builders.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) indicated that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold during the second quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.

That’s up slightly from the first quarter and just shy of the record-high 72.5 percent seen in the first quarter of 2009.

Before 2009, the affordability index rarely topped 67 percent, and had never reached the 70 percent-mark.

But record low mortgage rates and falling home prices have opened the door for more buyers, less the tighter underwriting environment.

Kinda makes you wonder why no one is interested in buying a home these days – maybe affordability isn’t the driver.

After all, a ton of buyers pre-mortgage crisis couldn’t even afford to make their mortgage payments in the conventional sense, so they opted for mortgage programs with teaser rates like the option arm.

Perhaps they were more interested in the thought of home price appreciation, as opposed to simply living in a home.

Syracuse, NY Most Affordable Housing Market

The most affordable major housing market in the country was Syracuse, NY, pushing Indianapolis-Carmel, IN off the top spot, which it held for almost five years.

Nearly all (97.2%) of the homes sold there were affordable to households earning the median family income of $64,300.

Detroit, Youngstown, and Buffalo also made the list of the most affordable metros.

Meanwhile, the New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ area continued to be the least affordable major housing market during the second quarter, with just 19.9 percent of all homes sold deemed affordable to those earning the median income of $65,600.

Los Angeles, the Bay area, and Honolulu continued to linger at the bottom of the affordability scale during the quarter as well.

I am an actual person so if you are interested in refinancing you can receive real time quotes and payment options by calling me directly. You can reach me, Gene Neal at 877-276-6400 Ext 101.