Good news from the Kelly Team

The best housing news we've seen lately is that homes now are very very affordable. In fact, the National Association of Realtors reported that homes haven't been this affordable since they began calculating their Housing Affordability Index in 1970. This measures the degree to which a typical family can afford the mortgage payments on a typical home. When the median family income is the same as the income needed to qualify for a mortgage for the median priced home, the reading is 100. The preliminary Housing Affordability Index for February was 173.5, meaning the median family income is 73% higher than necessary to qualify for a loan on a median priced home. The highest previous number was 154.8, back in 1972. This historic level of home affordability is the result of both historically low mortgage rates and reduced home prices. First time homebuyers also benefit from an $8,000 tax credit if they close on their purchase before December 1, 2009. If inflation happens, as some fear, buying now is particularly smart, as you wind up paying back your mortgage with devalued dollars. Bottom line, this is a terrific time to buy a home.