Homes Are Now More Affordable Than Ever

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Realtors shows that housing affordability has been at an all time high thus far through 2012. The Housing Affordability Index is relative to median home prices, median home income, and average home mortgage rate. Buying power is the result of a higher index. Here in the Tampa, Florida market, the Housing Affordability Index is higher than most cities in the country. President of the National Association of Realtors, Moe Veissi, says the most recent study highlights the opportunities that more and more people are ready to buy, and some may not even know it. The “100 point” mark is reached when a median income level producing household is ready to purchase a median priced existing single family home. Being that the index is above 200 right now, the majority of Americans have double than what is actually needed to buy a home. Florida’s Bay area, which includes Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, is currently at 154.4 as it relates to housing affordability. He also went on to say that housing inventory has dropped and that the decline in supply should help the housing market stabilize throughout 2012. If access to credit is made easier, we should see home prices and sales going up more and more as we head into the second quarter of this year. As mortgage rates remain at all time lows, and mortgage applications stay high, more activity is soon to come. If these record low rates can remain available for an extended period of time, we can begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. If you would like to receive information on what your buying power is, please leave a comment or contact us directly so we can send you information that your will find informative. You could stop wasting your money renting an apartment next to the noisy neighbors. Buy your own home and let SI Real Estate help you along the way. SI Real Estate offers highly personalized, multilingual, full-spectrum real estate purchase and sales services. We are a boutique for sophisticated investors, select owners or renters who may be upgrading locally, or those making traditional relocations. We also provide turnkey landlord and tenant management. Blending comprehensive insight into the Tampa Bay area with international perspectives for a worldwide clientele, we like to think that “SI Real Estate is Global Real Estate in Every Way!”