ShareNAR releases statistics on metropolitan area median home prices each quarter. Beginning on February 15, 2005, this quarterly report includes a breakdown of condo and co-op prices by metro market.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and include the specified city or cities and surrounding suburban areas. In 2014, NAR updated its MSA definition to OMB's 2013 MSA standard.
About Qualifying Income
When a home buyer seeks a mortgage for a home purchase, the lender will review the amount of income the potential buyer earns. Total gross income will be compared to the total housing payment to ensure that the home buyer is not spending more than a prudent percent of their income on housing. This should help ensure that lending is responsible and home ownership is sustainable.1
What's prudent? In its guidelines, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) suggests that total house payments not exceed 31% of gross income. HUD's total house payment includes principle and interest but also includes payments for things such as mortgage insurance and homeowner's insurance.
Because NAR's analysis will exclude some factors HUD includes in the total house payment, we use a more conservative ratio of 25% to create the qualifying metro area income. In other words, qualifying income is set to equal four times the calculated annual mortgage principal and interest payments.2
1 HUD Mortgage Credit Analysis: In its total house payment calculation, HUD includes many payments that NAR does not include in the analysis, such as real estate tax escrow payments and hazard or mortgage insurance, among others. Also, HUD allows the payment-to-income ratio to exceed 31% if compensating factors are present. See the document for details, particularly section 4155.1 4.F.2.b Mortgage Payment Expense to Effective Income Ratio.
2 Mortgage payments are estimated assuming a fully amortizing 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Down payment assumptions vary and are explicit in the analysis.