IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Housing affordability improved modestly during the fourth quarter of last year, helped by slightly lower interest rates and lower home prices.
Overall, 62.8 percent of all new and existing homes that were sold during the three months of 2014 nationwide were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $63,900, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
That was up from 61.8 percent during the previous quarter, according to the index, which was released Thursday.
The national median home income during the fourth quarter was $215,000, down from $220,800 during the third quarter. Mortgage rates nationwide went from 4.35 percent to 4.29 percent during that time.
“This upturn in affordability for the final quarter of 2014 is a positive development and is line with what we are hearing from builders in the field, that more prospective buyers are starting to move forward in the marketplace,” said Tom Woods, association chairman, in a statement.
The Inland Empire did not rank among the top five most affordable or least affordable markets, the index stated.
