
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991                   TAG: 9102010247
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

HOME-BUYING ABILITY HIGHEST IN 13 YEARS

Falling interest rates and relatively stable home prices in December boosted the typical family's ability to buy an existing home to its highest level in 13 1/2 years, a real estate trade group said Thursday.

The National Association of Realtors said its Housing Affordability Index registered 116.5 points in December, up 1.6 percentage points from November and the highest since it was at 118.6 points in May 1977. It was the fifth-straight monthly gain.

The reading means a family earning the national median income of $35,581 had 116.5 percent of the income needed to qualify for conventional financing covering 80 percent of a house costing $91,900, the national median price.

The Realtors said the interest rate used to compute the index fell from 9.97 percent in November to 9.84 percent in December. At the same time, median incomes rose $114 while home prices advanced just $100.

The income needed to qualify for a loan covering 80 percent of the typical home declined from $30,857 to $30,553 in December, while the average monthly mortgage payment slipped $6 to $637.

by CNB