[thierabess]

Very good news for Migrants. If you wish to purchase a nice house, the place you want to do it is in America. Never before has house affordability been so good.

Australia? UK? Singapore? If only these countries could offer its people affordable housing like the USA!

Most Families Can Now Afford House

Source: Daily News)trackingBy Gregory J. Wilcox, Daily News, Los Angeles

Feb. 19--Real-estate prices have fallen so low that nearly 60 percent of California households could afford to buy an entry-level home, a trade association said Wednesday.

The California Association of Realtors reported that affordability soared to 59 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with just 33 percent a year earlier.

"I think it's the best news because it means the markets are working and the first-time buyers and investors are responding," said Leslie Appleton-Young, the association's vice president and chief economist.

The association considers its affordability index the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.

Last year's fourth-quarter affordability is the highest since the index was created in 2003. And demonstrating the volatility of the state's housing market, the index hit its record low of 23 percent in the second quarter of 2006.

Under the association's formula, an affordable price for first-time buyers is 85percent of the median price statewide and in selected markets.

California's housing market has been roiled by a huge number of foreclosures. The bargain-price property is driving huge sales gains in some parts of the state.

"That property is perceived to be a good deal and long-term investment," Appleton-Yound said. "That stuff is selling."

The latest report also showed:

The median entry-level price fell 40 percent, from $411,170 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to $248,030 in the comparable period last year.

The minimum household income needed for an entry-level home was $48,900, based on an adjustable rate mortage of 6.02 percent and a 10 percent down payment. The median income for California households in the fourth quarter was $59,160.

The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance, was $1,630.

In Los Angeles County, the affordability index soared to 46 percent, matching the same level as the first index. The entry-level price was $301,110 and the qualifying income $59,100. The monthly payment would be $1,970.

With an index of 76 percent, the High Desert region, which includes the Antelope Valley, was the most affordable area in the state. The entry-level price was $125,080; the qualifying income, $24,600; and the monthly payment, $820.

The association's report came as President Barack Obama announced details of his administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan.

"Anything the government will do will certainly help," Appleton-Young said of that plan. "No doubt the government is using all the firepower they've got, but there is no quick fix to this."

But the Mortgage Bankers Association said that some components of the rescue plan won't be much help in some populous areas.

The association is concerned that the plan offers little help to borrowers whose loan exceeds their property value by more than 5 percent.

Nor does it offer assistance to borrowers with jumbo mortgages or those whose mortgages are in private- label securities, which are sold by a company other than a government-sponsored enterprise.

"This will limit the plan's success in some of the hardest-hit areas in California," John Courson, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based trade group, said in a written statement.

-----