August Housing Affordability Index

At the national level, housing affordability is down from a year ago, but up for the month of August as both home prices and mortgage rates came down while incomes grew slightly above 2 percent.

•Housing affordability is down from a year ago in August as the median price for a single family home in the U.S. is up from a year ago. Regionally, the West had the biggest increase in price at 10.0 percent while the Northeast experienced the slowest price growth at 4.4 percent. The Midwest and the South both contributed solid price gains of 7.2 percent.

•The median single-family home price is $230,200 up 5.1 percent from August 2014. August’s mortgage rate is 4.15, down 9 basis points (one percentage point equals 100 basis points) from last year. Nationally, affordability is down from 160.0 in August 2014 to 157.7 in August 2015.

•Affordability is up from one month ago in all regions, and the South had the largest jump of 3.0 percent while the Northeast rose only 1.2 percent. From one year ago, affordability is down in all regions. The West saw the biggest decline in affordability at 2.9 percent and the Midwest had the smallest decline of 0.7 percent.

•Despite month to month changes, the most affordable region is the Midwest where the index is 198.0. The index is 166.1 in the South, 153.4 in the Northeast, and 117.2 in the West.

•Rents are still rising and are currently at a seven year high. The new rules on lending disclosure known as TRID or “Know Before You Owe” could slow down the process of obtaining a loan and may cause consumers to need more time between contract singing and closing. This could also mean a need for longer rate-lock periods, which could be more expensive. Realtors can help clients by learning about the regulations, managing client expectations, and working with clients to get paperwork turned in earlier.  Recent data shows mortgage applications are currently up and monthly figures remain solid. Purchasing a home is still viewed as a standard means of building wealth and long-term gains should remain in the mind of renters.

•What does housing affordability look like in your market? View the data here.

•The Housing Affordability Index calculation assumes a 20 percent down payment and a 25 percent qualifying ratio (principle and interest payment to income). See further details on the methodology and assumptions behind the calculation here.