My Real Estate Blog

Housing affordability is higher today than it has been for decades. What does this mean for today's buyer? It means now is the time to buy!

According to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index data, "73.9% of all new and existing homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400."  Tuesday's report shows that housing affordability at the end of 2010 was at its highest level since the HOI began keeping statistics.

Indianapolis, Indiana ranked as the most affordable housing market in the entire country. Ninety-three percent of homes sold in the city were affordable to households earning to area median of $68,700.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Santa Cruz, CA, was ranked as the least affordable city in the country. Only 45 percent of homes were affordable to families making the median household income of $84,200.

Nearly all of the lowest range major metro areas were in California, which is not surprisingly considering the housing bubble that formed in the early 2000s. 

Here is the DC Metro area, home prices are up 14% over last year.