Home Affordability by Metro Area

Home affordability continues to hit new records.   Home prices have stabilized, but have not surged higher and yet we’re still seeing record lows for mortgage rates.

According to the quarterly Home Opportunity Index as published by the National Association of Home Builders, more than 72 percent of all new and existing homes sold between April-June 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income.

Like any home statistic, real estate is local.  For example, the Q2 winner as most affordable was Syracuse, NY.  This is sort of staggering, but 97.2% of homes sold in Syracuse were affordable for families making the median income.  Indianapolis won the first quarter of this year.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the least affordable major city went to the “New York-White Plains, NY-Wayne, NJ” metropolitan statistical area for the 9th consecutive quarter.  Just 19.9% of homes are affordable to families earning the local median income, down 1 percent from last quarter.

The rankings for all 225 metro areas are viewable on the NAHB website but regardless of where you live, buying a home is as affordable as it’s ever been in history.

All things equal, buying a home may never be this inexpensive again. If you were planning to purchase later this year, you may want to move up your time frame.