According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), housing affordability nationwide slipped in the second quarter 2014 for families earning the the U. S. median income of $63,900. 62.6 percent of new and existing homes sold in Q2 were affordable, a slip from 65.5 percent of homes sold in the first quarter that met the affordability threshold, as MHProNews has been informed.  NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe says, “While we are seeing a slight decrease in affordability, it is still fairly high by historical standards.”

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. Ranked as the nation’s most affordable major housing market, as 90.4 percent of all new and existing homes sold in 2014’s second quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $52,700. Next in order of affordability was Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana, followed by Syracuse, NY; Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA; and Scranton-Wilkes Barre, PA. Meanwhile, for the seventh consecutive quarter, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. was the nation’s least affordable housing market as only 11.1 percent of the homes sold in Q2 2014 were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $100,400. ##

(Photo credit: Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)