2012 is shaping up to be a record year for favorable housing conditions and a strong year for buyers, according to the National Associations of Realtors.
As of November, the Housing Affordability Index released by NAR stood at 198.2. This index takes into account the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate.
A higher index indicates a stronger household purchasing power.
When an index hits 100, it is at the point where a median-income family is making enough money to qualify to buy a median-priced single-family home, assuming 20% is put down and a quarter of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest payments.
NAR predicts that once the December numbers are reported, 2012 will hit a record high 194 on the index, up from 186 in 2011, which was the previous record.
No comments:
Post a Comment