Owning a home is a dream for a lot of Americans. But no one wants to own a home they struggle to afford. That's why there's so much focus on housing affordability right now. Put simply, there's a shortage of homes for sale and it's made finding an affordable home more challenging for today's buyer. New numbers from the National Association of Realtors offer some encouragement, though – especially for Americans who want to buy but worry homeownership may now be out of their financial reach. The numbers, from the NAR's most recent Housing Affordability Index, show that affordability conditions have actually improved now for the second-consecutive month. In fact, the typical monthly mortgage payment dropped 1.1 percent in August from the month before. The index – which compares median incomes to the income needed to comfortably qualify for a mortgage – found that the Midwest was the country's most affordable region, with median incomes around $30,000 more than the amount needed to qualify. But, even in the West, where buying is most expensive, the median income is still roughly $12,000 more than what's needed to qualify for a mortgage. (source)
