NAR: Housing Affordability Improves

The typical American family's ability to purchase a median-priced home increased in the fourth quarter as a result of declining mortgage interest rates and rising family income, according to the National Association of Realtors.The NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index stood at 131.8, up from 128.9 in the third quarter but down from 136.8 a year earlier. The latest index number means that the typical household in the United States had 131.8% of the income needed to purchase a home at the fourth-quarter median existing-home price, which was $187,500, the association said. NAR chief economist David Lereah said the improvement in housing affordability is sustaining high home sales. "The median-income family is very well-positioned to buy a median-priced home in most of the country," he said. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.