Exceptionally low interest rates led to a slight gain in nationwide housing affordability in the final quarter of 2012 despite steady home prices, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
"The median price of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $188,000, essentially unchanged from the previous quarter's $189,000 that marked a nearly three-year high," noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "It is noteworthy that affordability remains historically high thanks to favorable mortgage rates even as national home price indexes show some rise in values."
Between the beginning of October and the end of December, 74.9 percent of homes sold in the U.S. were affordable to families earning $65,000, the nation's median income. That is a 0.8% increase over the quarter before.
Ogden-Clearfield, Utah; Dayton, Ohio; Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.; and Syracuse, N.Y. were ranked the most affordable major housing markets, while New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. remained the least affordable major markets.
