NAR Housing Affordability Index at Record Low: Good news for Prescott buyers!

On April 1st, NAR released it latest figures on affordability and the index is at a record low.  This is great news for buyers of traditional resales and foreclosed homes in the Prescott and Prescott Valley market areas.

Click on logo to go to the report

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) rose 0.9 percentage points to a record high 173.5 in February from January. The HAI is a measure of housing affordability that correlates the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.  The index has been tracked by NAR since 1970.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said a median-income family, earning $59.700, can afford a residence that costs $285,600 in February with 20% down, assuming that 25% of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest.  These numbers are well within the prices and incomes in the Quad-cities region of Northern Arizona.

Yun said in the press release that he expects inventories to rise through early summer as part of normal seasonal patterns, as more sellers enter the market through the spring.

See the NAR site to see this and past reports.