The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) reports lower median prices and steady mortgage rates contributed to higher housing affordability in Q1 2014, rising from 64.7 percent of homes sold in Q4 2013 that were affordable to families earning the median income of $63,900, to 65.5 percent in the first quarter of this year. The national median home price fell from $205,000 in Q4 to $195,000 in the first three months of 2014, MHProNews.com has learned, while mortgage rates during that period changed very little, from 4.54 to 4.57. Syracuse, New York ranked as the most affordable major housing market in the first quarter 2014, where 93.7 percent of all new and existing homes were affordable to families earning the region’s median income of $67,700. “Housing affordability remains strong and this is an encouraging sign as the spring home building season moves into high gear,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. ##
