Written by Brandon Schank
For the median-income family, buying a home has never been more affordable, new surveys by the National Association of REALTORS® and National Association of Home Builders show.
Housing affordability reached a record high for the second-straight quarter in the first three months of this year, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity index shows. Nearly 78 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter this year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000, according to the index.
NAR’s quarterly Housing Affordability Index also showed a record high in affordability in the first quarter. NAR first began keeping records on affordability in 1970.
According to NAR’s index, the median-income family earning under $61,000 could afford a home costing $325,000 — more than double the national median existing single-family home price of $158,100.
“The median monthly mortgage principal and interest payment for a median-priced home would take only 13.5 percent of gross income,” according to NAR’s affordability index.
Source taken from http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/05/21/housing-affordability-reaches-record-highs
