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The MReport Webcast: Tuesday 3/31/2015

Low housing supply is causing affordability to decrease in U.S. cities, according to a report from Zillow. Affordability is worst in fast growing cities that have fallen behind in building homes to keep up with population growth. Currently the average U.S. homebuyer can expect to spend 15.3 percent of their monthly income on a mortgage payment. Affordability is best in places with slow population growth, like Detroit, or places that have met new growth by building new housing units.

Detroit had the most affordable housing on the list, where homebuyers will pay about 10 percent of their income on a mortgage. St. Louis and Pittsburgh tied for a close second. Homebuyers in either of those cities will pay about 10 point 8 percent of their income on a mortgage. Houston, Virginia Beach, and Tampa were all more affordable markets, while San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento were less affordable. Los Angeles had the highest rate, with a mortgage in that city costing a homebuyer 40 percent of their income.

National Association of Mortgage Brokers president John Councilman wrote a letter to President Obama after his speech at Lawson State Community College, urging the President to update his speech to reflect the current state of the mortgage industry. In his speech, President Obama spoke of the important role the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has played in helping the U.S. recover from the financial crisis. However, according to Councilman, in an effort to praise the CFPB, the president singled out mortgage brokers as “unscrupulous.”

About Author: Jordan Funderburk

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