TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After a 16-year high in the first quarter of 2009, The Alabama Housing Affordability Index showed a slight decline in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate at The University of Alabama.
The first quarter of 2009 reported the level of affordability at 210.4, followed by another slight decline in the second quarter of 2009 to 193.0. The AHAI in the third quarter of 2009 was 185.9.
The standard definition used by the Alabama Center for Real Estate for the statewide housing affordability index is the ratio of the state’s actual median family income to the income needed to purchase and finance the state’s median priced home.
An index number of 100 means that a family earning the state’s median income has just enough buying power to qualify for a loan on the state’s median priced, single-family home, assuming standard underwriting criteria. The higher the index number, the more affordable is the housing.
For a detailed look at the Alabama Housing Affordability Index, go to http://acre.cba.ua.edu/affordability_index.php
Contact
Grayson Glaze, executive director, Alabama Center for Real Estate, gglaze@cba.ua.edu, 205/348-7714; Bill Gerdes, UA media relations, bgerdes@cba.ua.edu, 205/348-8318