Housing affordability reached its highest level after the National Association of Home Builders released its Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) for the first quarter of 1999.

The HOI is a quarterly measure of the percentage of homes sold that a family earning the median income can afford to buy.

Families earning the median household income of $47,800 were able to purchase 69.6 percent of the homes sold nationally.

Rockford, Ill., ranked as the most affordable community in the nation with households earning a median of $52,600 being able to buy 93 percent of the homes sold in that market.

The Wilmington-Newark, Del., metro area ranked third in the nation and first in the South region, with families earning the median area income of $66,000 able to afford 91.6 percent of the homes sold.

Baltimore ranked 60th in the nation, with families earning the median income of $60,600 able to purchase 79.6 percent of the homes sold.

San Francisco was the least affordable area for the seventh year, with an affordability score of only 21.3 percent.

Pub Date: 6/20/99