TEXAS HOUSING MARKETS AMONG MOST AFFORDABLE

WASHINGTON (National Association of Home Builders) – Five Texas markets were among the ten most affordable housing markets in the south during fourth quarter 2008, according to housing opportunity index (HOI) data compiled by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing.

In Sherman-Denison, 87 percent of new and existing homes sold during the final quarter of 2008 were affordable to middle-income earners, ranking the city third in the region.

Wichita Falls ranked fifth at 82.6 percent, San Angelo seventh at 79.8 percent, Fort Worth–Arlington eighth at 79 percent and Beaumont–Port Arthur ninth at 77.5 percent.

Nationally, 62.4 percent of all new and existing homes were affordable to families earning the national median income of $61,500, up from the previous quarter's 56.1 percent and the 46.6 percent from the end of 2007.