[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fv974y3lgbal7":3,"$ffeh0925h8cuz":47,"$fbwk2pqjjqsc7":51},{"item":4,"previous":35,"next":41},{"id":5,"slug":6,"title":7,"description":8,"excerpt":9,"contentType":10,"featuredImage":11,"bannerImage":9,"body":12,"agentsBottomLine":13,"bodyImage":14,"isInfographic":15,"categories":16,"isVideo":15,"videoThumbnail":9,"videoSource":9,"publishedAt":33,"updatedAt":34},1127,"house-buying-power-at-near-historic-levels","House-Buying Power at Near-Historic Levels","We keep hearing that home affordability is approaching crisis levels. While this may be true in a few metros across the country, housing affordability is not a challenge in the clear majority of the country. In their most recent\u003Cem> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.firstam.com\u002Feconomics\u002Freal-house-price-index\u002F\">Real House Price Index\u003C\u002Fa>,\u003C\u002Fem> \u003Cem>First American\u003C\u002Fem> reported that consumer “house-buying power” is at \"near-historic levels.”","","blog","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F10134621\u002F20180712-Share-STM.jpg","We keep hearing that home affordability is approaching crisis levels. While this may be true in a few metros across the country, housing affordability is not a challenge in the clear majority of the country. In their most recent\u003Cem> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.firstam.com\u002Feconomics\u002Freal-house-price-index\u002F\">Real House Price Index\u003C\u002Fa>,\u003C\u002Fem> \u003Cem>First American\u003C\u002Fem> reported that consumer “house-buying power” is at \"near-historic levels.”\u003C!--more-->\r\n\r\nTheir index is based on three components:\r\n\u003Col>\r\n \t\u003Cli>Median Household Income\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>Mortgage Interest Rates\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>Home Prices\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Fol>\r\nThe report explains:\r\n\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cem>“Changing incomes and interest rates either increase or decrease consumer house-buying power or affordability. When incomes rise and\u002For mortgage rates fall, consumer house-buying power increases.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\r\nCombining these three crucial pieces of the home purchasing process, \u003Cem>First American\u003C\u002Fem> created an index delineating the actual home-buying power that consumers have had dating back to 1991.\r\n\r\nHere is a graph comparing \u003Cem>First American\u003C\u002Fem>’s consumer house-buying power (blue area) to the actual median home price that year from the\u003Cem> National Association of Realtors\u003C\u002Fem> (yellow line).\r\n\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180712-STM-ENG.jpeg\">\u003Cimg class=\"alignnone wp-image-37807\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180712-STM-ENG.jpeg\" alt=\"House-Buying Power at Near-Historic Levels | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>\r\n\r\nConsumer house-buyer power has been greater than the actual price of a home since 1991. And, the spread is larger over the last decade.\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nEven though home prices are increasing rapidly and are now close to the values last seen a decade ago, the actual affordability of a home is much better now. As \u003Cem>Chief Economist\u003C\u002Fem> Mark Fleming explains in the report:\r\n\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cem>\"Though unadjusted house prices have risen to record highs, consumer house-buying power stands at near-historic levels, as well, signaling that real house prices are not even close to their historical peak.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>","\r\nEven though home prices are increasing rapidly and are now close to the values last seen a decade ago, the actual affordability of a home is much better now. As \u003Cem>Chief Economist\u003C\u002Fem> Mark Fleming explains in the report:\r\n\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cem>\"Though unadjusted house prices have risen to record highs, consumer house-buying power stands at near-historic levels, as well, signaling that real house prices are not even close to their historical peak.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F20180712-STM-ENG.jpeg",false,[17,21,25,29],{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},5,"For Buyers","buyers",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},9,"Home Prices","home-prices",{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},11,"First-Time Buyers","first-time-buyers",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},38,"Move-Up","move-up","2018-07-12T10:00:20Z","2018-07-10T15:04:49Z",{"id":36,"slug":37,"title":38,"featuredImage":39,"publishedAt":40,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1126,"rising-interest-rates-have-not-dampened-demand","Rising Interest Rates Have Not Dampened Demand","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F06163659\u002F20180711-Share-STM.jpg","2018-07-11T10:00:18Z",{"id":42,"slug":43,"title":44,"featuredImage":45,"publishedAt":46,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},1128,"want-to-sell-your-house-faster-dont-forget-to-stage-infographic","Want to Sell Your House Faster? Don’t Forget to Stage! [INFOGRAPHIC]","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002F11165650\u002F20180713-Share-STM.jpg","2018-07-13T10:00:33Z",{"cover":48,"open":49,"shareSpread":50},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Cover-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Spread-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Magazine-original.png",[52,56,57,61,65,69,70,71,75,79,80,84,88,92,96,100,104,108,112,116,120,124,128,132,136,140,144,148,152,156],{"id":53,"name":54,"slug":55},1,"Uncategorized","uncategorized",{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},{"id":58,"name":59,"slug":60},6,"For Sellers","sellers",{"id":62,"name":63,"slug":64},7,"Foreclosures","foreclosures",{"id":66,"name":67,"slug":68},8,"Infographics","infographics",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},{"id":72,"name":73,"slug":74},34,"Senior Market","senior-market",{"id":76,"name":77,"slug":78},35,"Mortgage Rates","mortgage-rates",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},{"id":81,"name":82,"slug":83},41,"For Sale by Owner","for-sale-by-owner",{"id":85,"name":86,"slug":87},42,"Featured","featured",{"id":89,"name":90,"slug":91},45,"New Construction","new-construction",{"id":93,"name":94,"slug":95},52,"Luxury \u002F Vacation","luxury--vacation",{"id":97,"name":98,"slug":99},53,"Rent vs. Buy","rent-vs-buy",{"id":101,"name":102,"slug":103},80,"Time-sensitive","time-sensitive",{"id":105,"name":106,"slug":107},81,"Outdated","outdated",{"id":109,"name":110,"slug":111},147,"Internal","internal",{"id":113,"name":114,"slug":115},148,"Do Not Autopost","do-not-autopost",{"id":117,"name":118,"slug":119},320,"Inventory","inventory",{"id":121,"name":122,"slug":123},321,"Agent Value","agent-value",{"id":125,"name":126,"slug":127},322,"Affordability","affordability",{"id":129,"name":130,"slug":131},323,"Buying Tips","buying-tips",{"id":133,"name":134,"slug":135},324,"Downsize","downsize",{"id":137,"name":138,"slug":139},325,"Economy","economy",{"id":141,"name":142,"slug":143},326,"Equity","equity",{"id":145,"name":146,"slug":147},327,"Forecasts","forecasts",{"id":149,"name":150,"slug":151},328,"Selling Tips","selling-tips",{"id":153,"name":154,"slug":155},339,"Expired\u002FWithdrawn\u002FCanceled","expiredwithdrawncanceled",{"id":157,"name":158,"slug":159},340,"Price It Right\u002FOverpricing","price-it-rightoverpricing"]