Housing Affordability Rises in First Quarter

U.S. housing was more affordable in the first quarter of 1998, as a gauge of home-buying conditions reached its highest level in two years, the National Assn. of Realtors said. The NAR’s housing affordability index rose to 134.9 during the first three months of 1998 from 131.5 in the last quarter of 1997. The first-quarter reading was the highest since the first three months of 1996, when the index was at 135.2. The index measures affordability for all home buyers, which means that half the nation’s households had 134.9% of the income needed to purchase a median-priced home during the first quarter, which was $125,900.