A recent study has discovered America’s least affordable housing markets. More and more people are unable to afford homes as the housing sector recovers. The low prices that we have become accustomed to during the decline may now be a thing of the past.
According to data released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo, 69.3% of the homes sold in the second quarter of 2013 were affordable to families earning a median income of $64,400. Those numbers indicate a significant decline, as 73.7% percent of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families of similar financial backgrounds.
“Housing affordability has been hovering near historic highs for the past several years, largely due to exceptionally favorable mortgage rates and low prices during the recession,” said NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C.
Recent progression of the housing sector, however, has made it increasingly harder for homeowners to acquire a property. Stagnant incomes, in association with higher home prices and mortgage rates, have made it more difficult for people to afford a house.
“Now that markets across the country are recovering, home values are strengthening at the same time that the cost of building homes is rising due to tightened supplies of building materials, developable lots and labor,” says Judson.
In the latest housing affordability index released by the NAHB, California hosts four of the top five least affordable housing markets.
America’s least affordable housing markets are as follows:
