US Housing Affordability Remains at a Record Low

US Housing Market - 1 Minute Read

9/28/2023

According to a story published in Bloomberg, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index remained at a record low of 87.8 in July 2023. The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) equals 100 when borrowers’ median income qualifies for an 80% mortgage on a median-priced existing single-family home. That is, the index is a measure of borrowers’ qualifications, not a percentage of some specific time period, as is the case with many economic indexes.

Here is the graph showing the Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index going back to 1989 when NAR become calculating the index.

NAR also publishes the Affordabiity Index of Exising Single-Family Homes for Metropolitan Areas. The latest published reading for Salt Lake City, Utah was 82.5, a 31% descrease in a single year. The Salt Lake City reading was 134.5 in 2019.