One of the "Presents" the real estate downturn has given us in Vancouver
Washington and Clark County, is that we now have Home Affordability at a very
high level. In fact, the data provided by the Washington State
University's Washington
Center for Real Estate Research (WCRER) is showing we are at a High not seen
in at least two decades!
The Quarterly Report prepared prepared by WCRER (Third Quarter 2011 Report can
be seen -->
Here) is an accumulation of data by County within Washington State, allowing
us here in Clark County to see how our real estate market has tracked over time;
and to see how we compare to other Counties and the State Average. Since
the public report is only in tabular form for any given quarter, we thought it
would be fun to prepare a graph that would visually show over time just how
amazing the current position is. The result is the chart below that starts
with the Second Quarter in 1994 through the Third Quarter of 2011:
Reading the Chart: The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) measures the ability of the Median Household Income (as currently reported by the US Census Bureau) for Clark County to purchase a Median Priced Clark County Home. The home purchase will be made with a 20% down-payment at the current rate of interest. A benchmark number of 100 means that the Median Household Income equally matches the requirement to purchase a Median Priced home. Numbers above 100 mean improved Affordability; while numbers below 100 indicate decreased Affordability.
As we can see the most recent peak in the HAI was at the time of the previous housing recession in the early 2000's. Once that recovery turned to Boom, and then on to Bubble, the HAI dropped to it's lowest level. Of note, even at the peak of the Bubble, the HAI for Clark County was just under the 100 benchmark level.
For the current heights of the HAI, we know that soft home prices and falling home loan rates have weighed in significantly. On the Household Income measure, apparently Clark County on whole, has not had enough of a drop in income to keep the HAI from rising up.
Our word to Wise Home Buyers: we do not expect Clark County and
Vancouver WA Homes and Houses to be any more affordable than they are right
now! We've already started seeing home prices firm up, and no one expects
home loan interest rates to stay below 4%. Clark County is also more
affordable than most other metro areas in Washington; and we are seeing inbound
moves from the Seattle area, for example, as they take advantage of such a move!
We'd love to hear your questions or comments on this topic!
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The above information was assembled from data provided by the WSU Washington
Center for Real Estate Research, and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
The chart was created by John Slocum, Broker with
REMAX Vancouver WA using this
data.
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