Friday, September 26, 2014

I am always receiving information related to home ownership. So it was interesting to learn that nationwide housing affordability dipped in the second quarter of 2014 as several markets saw a firming of home prices, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI).

In all, 62.6 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and the end of June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $63,900 - down from the 65.5 percent of homes sold that were affordable to median-income earners in the first quarter.

Also, the national median home price increased from $195,000 in the first quarter to $214,000 in the second quarter. Meanwhile, average mortgage interest rates decreased from 4.57 percent to 4.44 percent in the same period according to the NAHB report.

The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area on the Ohio, Pennsylvania border claimed the title of the nation’s most affordable major housing market, as 90.4 percent of all new and existing homes sold in this year’s second quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $52,700.

Meanwhile, Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. was the most affordable smaller market, with 97.2 percent of homes sold in the second quarter being affordable to those earning the median income of $54,100.

Meanwhile, smaller markets joining Cumberland at the top of the affordability chart included Kokomo, Ind.; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill.; Battle Creek, Mich.; and Lima, Ohio.

For a seventh consecutive quarter, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. was the nation’s least affordable major housing market. There, just 11.1 percent of homes sold in the second quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $100,400.

All five least affordable small housing markets were in California.

At the very bottom was Santa Cruz-Watsonville, where 16.6 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $77,900. Other small markets included Napa, Salinas, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com