Department of Numbers

Phoenix, Arizona Home Affordability

The data below measures home affordability for the Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona metropolitan area using price-to-income and price-to-rent metrics. The maximum affordable loan amount for the median household income is also calculated.

Phoenix, Arizona Home Price-to-Income Index

The current price-to-income ratio for Phoenix is 2.52 as determined by March 2010 Realtor median sales prices. The chart below shows a history of the ratio as an index calculated from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Phoenix HPI series.1 Median household income data for Phoenix is from the Census American Community Survey.2

Price-to-Income: FHFA

Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000

Phoenix, Arizona Home Price-to-Income Index History

Date FHFA
March 2010 108.4
December 2009 110.5
September 2009 113.5
June 2009 120.3
March 2009 131.5

Phoenix, Arizona Home Price-to-Rent Index

The current price-to-rent ratio for Phoenix is 14.93 as determined by March 2010 Realtor median sales prices. This ratio is calculated using household size adjusted median contract rent for Phoenix. The chart below shows an index of the rent ratio calculated from the metro FHFA HPI series and the Phoenix median contract rent data from the Census ACS.

Price-to-Rent: FHFA

Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000

Phoenix, Arizona Home Price-to-Rent Index History

Date FHFA
March 2010 97.9
December 2009 99.9
September 2009 102.6
June 2009 108.7
March 2009 118.8

Phoenix, Arizona Inferred Affordable Mortgage

The inferred affordable mortgage is determined by taking the median household income for Phoenix, Arizona and calculating the mortgage 30% of that income could afford. Traditionally, 30% of income is the maximum amount a homeowner could use towards a home loan. Inferred affordable loan values are calculated from ACS median household income and average monthly mortgage rates.

Inferred Affordable Mortgage

Date Inferred Mortgage
May 2010 $263,558
April 2010 $257,330
March 2010 $261,159
February 2010 $260,564
January 2010 $259,381
December 2009 $262,354
November 2009 $263,861
October 2009 $261,756
September 2009 $258,499
August 2009 $254,729
July 2009 $253,871
June 2009 $248,263
May 2009 $264,467

1. Specifically, FHFA data is from the non seasonally adjusted, all-transactions quarterly series.

2. Income data for the previous year is carried into the following year prior to the release of new income data.