Nations Housing Remains Highly “Affordable” for Sixth Consecutive Quarter; Mahoning Valley Still in Ranks of “Most Affordable.”

Bolstered by favorable interest rates and low house prices, housing affordability remained near its highest level nationwide for the sixth consecutive quarter since the series was first compiled nearly two decades ago, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for Q2-2010.

 The HOI indicated that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. The index for the second quarter was slightly more affordable than the previous quarter and almost equaled the record-high 72.5 percent set during the first quarter of 2009.

 Note: Until 2009, the HOI rarely topped 67 percent and never reached 70 percent.

“Homeownership is within reach of more households than it has been for almost a generation,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones. “Interest rates continue to hover at historic low levels, the economy is beginning to rebound and with house prices starting to stabilize, conditions are beginning to draw home buyers back into the market, which is a positive step on the path to recovery.”

MOST AFFORDABLE

Syracuse, N.Y., was the most affordable major housing market in the country, edging out Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., which had held the top ranking for nearly five years. In Syracuse, 97.2 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $64,300.

Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa.: In the second quarter of 2010, 93.3 percent of new and existing homes sold in Mahoning Valley with a median price of $74,000, were affordable to families with a median income of $53,500. This ranks 21 in the nation and 16 in the Midwest region. Only Springfield, Mansfield, Canton-Massillon, and Lima rank marginally higher in Ohio.

Among smaller housing markets, the most affordable homes were found in Ohio and Michigan. Springfield, Ohio, was tops with 96.6 percent of homes sold during the second quarter of 2010 affordable to families earning a median-income of $56,800. Other smaller housing markets near the top of the index included Mansfield, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Monroe, Mich.; and Lansing-East Lansing, Mich., respectively.

LEAST AFFORDABLE

New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., continued to lead the nation as its least affordable major housing market during the second quarter of 2010. There, 19.9 percent of all homes sold during the quarter were affordable to those earning the New York area’s median income of $65,600. This was the ninth consecutive quarter that the New York metropolitan division has occupied this position.

The other major metro areas near the bottom of the affordability scale included San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.; and Honolulu, all metro areas that have lingered among the bottom rankings for several quarters.  

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif., was the least affordable of the smaller metro housing markets in the country during the second quarter. Others near the bottom included Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Ocean City, N.J.; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.; and Napa, Calif.

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Source - REALstuff (HomeTeam Blog)