Are Homes Really More Affordable Today?

Housing Affordability

Affordability in terms of housing measures your ability to buy. It does this by measuring how much of your gross income is spent on your mortgage. For example, if your gross income was $4,000 a month and your mortgage payment was $800 a month, your affordability index would be 20% ($800 / $4,000).

Why does this matter? If we look at the trend of affordability over time, some very exciting numbers reveal themselves about how truly AFFORDABLE housing is today.

  • In 1981, it took 36% of a family’s average gross income to afford the mortgage payment on the average house.
  • In 1989, it took 24% of a family’s average gross income to afford the mortgage payment on the average house.
  • In 2010, it only took 14% of a family’s average gross income to afford the mortgage payment on the average house.

If you need further proof that owning a home is more affordable than ever, take a look at this comparison of mortgage rates.

1989
2010
House $94,000 $173,000
Monthly Payment $825 $896
Mortgage Rate 10% 4.69%

The table above shows that even though home prices were nearly half in 1989 of what they are today, the monthly payment on that house was nearly IDENTICAL, due to more than double the mortgage rate. You’re paying the same each month as you did 20 years ago for a home twice the price!

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Keller Williams Salt Lake City
1214 Wilmington Avenue
Salt Lake City, UT 84106