Where Can You Find an Affordable Home?

Indianapolis, for the 12^th consecutive year, has been identified as the most affordable major U.S. housing market. The smaller metro market of Canton-Massillon, Ohio, with less than 500,000 residents, outranked all other markets for affordability.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) measures the percentage of homes sold in a particular market which are affordable to families earning the median household income for the area.

In Indianapolis, 91.6 percent of homes sold in the second quarter of 2008 were affordable to families earning the local median income of $65,100. Other major markets which top the list for affordable housing include Youngstown, Warren and Boardman in Ohio and Pennsylvania; Detroit, Lavinia and Dearborn in Michigan; Warren, Troy and Farmington Hills in Michigan and Grand Rapids and Wyoming in Michigan.

And where are homes the least affordable? Take a guess. Yes, New York City. The New York/White Plains, New York and Wayne, New Jersey market have the least affordable housing market, with just 11.4 percent of homes sold during the second quarter of 2008 affordable for families earning the area’s median income of $63,000. Surprisingly, this is the first time the least affordable housing market was outside of California since 1991.

For the complete data on the HOI, go to www.nahb.org/hoi