{"id":6457,"date":"2014-05-22T15:05:44","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T15:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=6457"},"modified":"2014-05-22T15:05:44","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T15:05:44","slug":"housing-affordability-slips-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/housing-affordability-slips-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Affordability Slips, But Not Everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Housing Affordability Slips, But Not Everywhere<\/h2>\n
\"Housing<\/a>

Housing Affordability Slips, But Not Everywhere. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles \/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/p><\/div>\n

Housing affordability continued to fall across the country as the median price of single-family homes rose due to a continued lack of housing inventory, according to the latest National Association of REALTORS\u00ae Housing Affordability Index<\/a>.\u00a0The median single-family home price was $198,200 in March, up 7.4 percent from year-ago levels.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, mortgage rates are higher than last year. Income levels rose 2.1 percent from last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn increase in inventory along with price stabilization will improve affordability,\u201d according to NAR\u2019s Economists\u2019 Outlook blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Affordability is down in all regions across the country, but the West saw the biggest drops in affordability due to a 12.5 percent price gain.<\/p>\n

Still, more than 63 percent of homes sold in the first three months of the year were affordable to buyers earning the U.S. median income of $63,900, according to a new analysis by the National Association of Home Builders. In some markets, the income needed to qualify is a fraction of that.<\/p>\n

The following housing markets are known as the most affordable markets in the nation for a median-priced home, where buyers need less than $21,000 in income to qualify for a mortgage when putting 5 percent down.<\/p>\n