Home Affordability At Lowest Point In Seven Years

It feels like 2009 again in many housing markets around the U.S., including San Antonio, Houston, San Francisco, and Brooklyn.

According to the third quarter ATTOM Data Solutions Home Affordability Index, 101 of the 414 counties (24 percent) analyzed in the report had an affordability index below 100. HousingWire explains that this means that buying a median-priced home in a certain county was less affordable than the historic average for that county going back to the first quarter of 2005. The rate is higher than last quarter (22 percent) and a year ago (19 percent).

Affordability is as low as it's been in seven years. In the third quarter of 2009, 47 percent of the markets were less affordable than historic averages.

The affordability index is based on the percentage of average wages needed to make monthly house payments on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed rate and a 3% down payment — including property taxes and insurance.

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