Home Affordability Up Across the Country

At last there is some good news in the housing market in some parts of the country. Housing affordability conditions improved in most metropolitan areas from softer existing-home prices and record-low mortgage interest rates in the fourth quarter, with rising sales and lower inventory creating more balanced conditions, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors®. However the Seattle metro area was one of the 118 areas with continuing price drops. Our market is still finding its bottom with houses that are priced below market selling quickly with multiple offers. Homes that are over priced in our area are just sitting with no activity. Introduced with this release is a new annual metro-level housing affordability index, with historically favorable conditions dominating across the country. The median existing single-family home price rose in 29 out of 149 metropolitan statistical areas1 (MSAs) in the fourth quarter from a year earlier; two were unchanged and 118 areas had price declines. See the complete article about home pricing from the National Association of Realtors.