Affordable Housing

The Midwest and South had the most affordable housing in America in the first quarter of 1991, while cities in California and the Northeast were at the bottom of the list, according to a survey by the National Assn. of Home Builders. The survey of 147 urban areas was the first quarterly affordability survey of both new and existing homes, based on sales totaling 300,000 units. The home builders calculated its index using a general underwriting standard that says a household can afford a home equal to 2.8 times its annual income at the 9.25% mortgage interest rate that prevailed during the period.

Most Affordable

City Percent 1 Amarillo, Tex. 88.9 2 Lorain-Elyria, Ohio 87.9 3 Daytona Beach, Fla. 84.6 4 Lansing-Lansing, Mich. 84.2 5 Oklahoma City 83.6 6 Milwaukee 83.5 7 Davenport-Rock Island, Iowa 83.3 8 Grand Rapids, Mich. 83.2 9 Jackson, Mich. 82.8 10 Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. 82.0

Least Affordable

City Percent 1 San Francisco 11.0 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach 13.6 3 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Calif. 14.5 4 Salinas-Monterey, Calif. 14.6 5 Oxnard-Ventura, Calif. 14.9 6 Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, Calif. 15.7 7 Anaheim-Santa Ana 18.3 8 Santa Barbara-Lompac, Calif. 18.6 9 San Diego 19.3 10 Modesto 19.9