Indianapolis Claims Affordable Housing Title
WASHINGTON D.C. ?EUR??,,????'??+ Indianapolis, Ind. has claimed the title of the nation?EUR??,,????'???s most affordable housing market among major metros with populations over 500,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the third quarter of 2005.
Other top-rated major cities for housing affordability include the metro area consisting of Youngstown-Warren and Boardman, Ohio-Pa.; as Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.; Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. and Oklahoma City, Okla., in that order.
Challenged by steadily rising home prices, overall housing affordability across the United States fell for the third consecutive quarter to its lowest level since 1992. Just over 43 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the country during the third quarter were affordable to median-income families. The decline was mostly attributable to a five percent gain in the average price of homes sold in the third quarter versus the second quarter.
?EUR??,,????'??Strong house-price performance is the double-edged sword that has simultaneously attracted and discouraged new home buyers,?EUR??,,????'?? said NAHB President Dave Wilson.
In the most affordable major metro area of Indianapolis, 89.7 percent of new and existing homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the area?EUR??,,????'???s median income of $64,000. The median price of homes that sold in Indianapolis during that time was $125,000.
On the other end of the spectrum, in the nation?EUR??,,????'???s least affordable major housing market of Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., a mere 2.4 percent of all homes sold were affordable to those earning the median income of $54,500 when the median sales price was $495,000.
California once again dominated the HOI rankings for the least affordable major metropolitan areas. Behind Los Angeles on this list was Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif., followed by San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif. and Stockton. The metro of New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. was the only non-California entry on the list of the five least affordable major housing markets.
