Elite - Meghan Carroll
Create a free HomeFinder Account    Login   |    Register
Welcome!    HomeFinder   |    Log Out
  • Search For Properties
    • Start Search Here
    • Featured Properties
    • Summer Rentals
  • Explore Places to Live
  • Advice & Tools
    • What’s My Home Worth?
    • Area Resources
    • The Homeowner’s Advice Blog
    • My Homefinder
    • Schools & Universities
    • Community Links
    • Loan Calculator
  • About Me
    • My Profile
    • Testimonials and Reviews
    • Contact Me
Home > Advice & About > Blog > How to Get a Better Perspective on Affordability

How to Get a Better Perspective on Affordability

Headlines spotlight the fact that buying a home is less affordable today than it was at any other time in more than a decade. Those headlines are accurate.

Understandably, buying a home is more expensive now than immediately following one of the worst housing crashes in American history. Over the past decade, the market was flooded with distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) selling at 10-50% discounts. There were so many that this lowered the prices of non-distressed homes in the same neighborhoods. As a result, mortgage rates were kept low to help the economy.

Prices have since recovered. Mortgage rates have increased as the economy has gained strength. This has impacted housing affordability. However, it’s necessary to give historical context to the subject of affordability.

Two weeks ago, CoreLogic reported on what they call the “typical mortgage payment”. As they explain:

“One way to measure the impact of inflation, mortgage rates and home prices on affordability over time is to use what we call the ‘typical mortgage payment.’ It’s a mortgage-rate-adjusted monthly payment based on each month’s U.S. median home sale price. It is calculated using Freddie Mac’s average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment…

The typical mortgage payment is a good proxy for affordability because it shows the monthly amount that a borrower would have to qualify for to get a mortgage to buy the median-priced U.S. home…

When adjusted for inflation, the typical mortgage payment puts homebuyers’ current costs in the proper historical context.”

Here is a graph showing the results of CoreLogic’s research:

How to Get a Better Perspective on Affordability | Keeping Current Matters

As the graph indicates, the most recent calculation remained 28% below the all-time peak of $1,275 in June 2006. That’s because the average mortgage rate at that time was 6.68%. As seen in the graph, both today’s typical payment and CoreLogic’s projection for the end of the year are less than it was in January 2000.

 

Meghan Carroll

Meghan Carrol
Sales Associate

Contact Info

RE/MAX Elite
27 Beach Road, Suite 4
Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750

Phone Numbers
Cell: 732-508-7402
Office: 732-870-6300
Contact Me

Connect With Me

Find Me On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget
Each RE/MAX® Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Equal Housing Opportunity. It is illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
engageRE is a trademark of real.leads Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Site Powered by engageRE | © 2019 real.leads, inc. | Select images used with permission - © Can Stock Photo | WordPress Access | Agent Portal