Realtor.com: Most Housing Today Is Affordable

More than half of the 1.6 million new and resale homes on the market last month were within reach of a family earning the national median income, according to Realtor.com. The “affordable homeownership” standard assumed a home purchase with 20 percent down and a 30-year fixed mortgage (at an average rate for the market and no points) that would account for no more than 28 percent of household income. The median-income household could purchase 54 percent of the houses. The majority of the price-friendly markets were in the eastern half of the country, with a surplus amount located in the Midwest. Also of note, every residential property for sale in Guymon, Okla.; Fort Dodge, Iowa; and Brookings, S.D., met the definition of affordable. Still, the analysis revealed that there were plenty of markets where housing remains out of reach — many of them in California. | Read More