The National Association of REALTORS® reported that quarterly home prices increased again this past quarter. Prices continued to rise, with 93% of the markets showing home price appreciation. While, single-family home price growth is slowing and median family incomes are rising, affordability has been declining. Knowing the mortgage rates and the qualifying incomes for down payments will help potential homeowners figure out what metro areas are affordable for them. Here is a look at the metro areas with the strongest price growth in the third quarter 2018, as well as a look at the yearly change in median existing single-family home prices for the top five highest and lowest growth metro areas of the third quarter 2018.

These are the top five single-family metro areas with the highest home price appreciation:

These are the bottom five single-family metro areas that had a decline in home price appreciation:

These are the most expensive metro areas for the third quarter 2018:

These are the least expensive metro areas for the third quarter 2018:

Qualifying Income Based on Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes for Metropolitan Areas by Region:

For the US, at the 5 percent down-payment threshold, the qualifying income amount for the third quarter of 2018 was $64,480. At the 10 percent down-payment mark, the qualifying income was $61,086, and with a 20 percent down-payment, the income required to qualify for a mortgage was $54,299. The West led all regions with the highest qualifying income while the Midwest had the lowest income for 5%, 10% and 20% down payments on a single-family home.

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