More good news on the housing front? Not from me there ain't...

 
The National Association of Realtors revealed Friday that its housing-affordability index - a metric that uses median existing-home prices, median family incomes, and average mortgage rates to calculate home affordability - fell to 98.5 percent in June, the lowest level since 1989. An index of 100 means the average family has more than enough income required to buy a home, with a dip below that mark suggesting households are struggling to enter the housing market.

It also means if you bought a house for cash this time last year, your house is underwater in value and will be for the foreseeable future.

Your mortgage payment should be no more than 25% of your net income.
 

According to the NAR's report, most regions in America were above or nearly at the 100-point marker, with the national average dragged down by a struggling Western market. 

In the West, the affordability index was at 69.6, a significant drop from the 97.6 it was last year. The South's index was 99.3, falling from 147.9 in 2021. Although their indexes were above 100, the Northeast and Midwest also saw significant drops, both falling by 30 percent.   

Last year, Americans were in a rush to purchase homes after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to near zero and the housing market enjoyed mortgage rates in the low 3 percent range. 

In July 2021, the typical home went under contract in just 15 days, according to Redfin, but after the Federal Reserve began its most aggressive drive in over three decades to increase interest rates in order to tame record-high inflation, mortgage rates nearly doubled, shocking the housing market.

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