TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The fourth quarter Alabama Housing Affordability Index is now posted on The University of Alabama’s Center for Real Estate Web site at http://acre.cba.ua.edu/affordability_index.php.
The statewide housing affordability index is calculated as the ratio of the state’s median family income to the income needed to buy and finance the state’s median priced home. An index of 100 means that a family earning the state’s median income has just enough buying power to qualify for a loan on the state’s median priced, single-family home. The higher the index, the more affordable the housing.
The state average for the fourth quarter of 2008 is 182.5, an increase of 18.24 over the third quarter, and far above the national average of 147.5.
The new posting details 11 metro areas and six county areas. The Web site Affordability Index page also has a written analysis that can be accessed by clicking on “4th Quarter 2008 Article.”
Contact
Bill Gerdes, UA Media Relations, 205/348-8318, bgerdes@cba.ua.edu
Source
Grayson Glaze, executive director, Alabama Center for Real Estate, gglaze@cba.ua.edu