Tag Archives: Affordability

What can be done to increase affordability for severely "cost-burdened" homeowners as the national homeownership rate falls further?

Some of the hottest housing markets may be slowing down, while those that have been slow to rebound are finally heating up.

Although mortgage interest rates continue to remain at historical lows, the benefits of this current environment are not being taken advantage of by borrowers due to one pressing factor in the market: surging home price increases.

With many analysts early in the year having predicted a robust spring season for the housing market, the question remains as to whether or not that will come to pass after a few months of inconsistency to start 2016.

The level of optimism for the housing market in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2014 is at its highest point as it has been at any point during the recovery, according to a recent survey conducted by Trulia.

As the U.S housing market climbs back to healthy, a third of it is less affordable now than it's been all century, according to RealtyTrac. The firm's latest housing affordability report found that 34 percent of the 1,200 U.S. counties it surveyed are at their least affordable, on average, since 2000.

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which measures contract signings as an indicator of future sales figures, jumped 6.1 percent month-over-month to 103.9. It was the largest one-month increase since April 2010, when the index spiked 9.6 percent as first-time buyers moved to sign purchase contracts to qualify for the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

ProTeck Valuation Services released its May Home Value Forecast (HVF), which detailed affordability indexes for Houston and Miami. The report found that although home prices have been rising steadily, housing is still very affordable when considered on historical terms.

The Wells Fargo Economics Group released its Housing Chartbook for May 2014. The group found that most markets are finding themselves "wildly out of balance" from inflated home prices driven by investor purchases, as well as exceptionally tight inventories that are well ahead of any improvement in demand.

While many analysts are celebrating the slow and steady recovery of the housing market, an article by the borrower advice website LoanLove offers a different view of the current state of the United States housing market. The article cites economists who believe the current housing market recovery stretching back 18 months is not a true sign of the market's economic outlook. Rather, the recovery is built on shaky ground that could collapse.