This from Crain's :
An index of home affordability rose to 92.0 in fourth-quarter 2007, up from 87.2 in the third quarter, according to a report by Moody’s Economy.com and Homes for Working Families, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit group that promotes affordability. Falling home prices have helped nudge the index higher, but it has yet to cross the 100 mark — the point at which the market is considered affordable again.
Unfortunately, falling home prices have been offset by the woes in the economy as a whole. Lower rates of income growth and rising unemployment serve to make would be buyers skittish about investing. More importantly, however, tightened lending restrictions are making it harder for buyers to qualify for a loan. Banks “have tightened loan qualifications and imposed increased fees, mortgage rates are higher than they were at the peak of the housing boom and banks have substantially reduced loan-to-price ratios,” the report says.
Chicago's affordability tracks just about equally when compared to 40 other major metropolitan cities.
