Washington, District of Columbia Home Affordability
The data below measures home affordability for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia metropolitan area using price-to-income and price-to-rent metrics. The maximum affordable loan amount for the median household income is also calculated.
Washington, District of Columbia Home Price-to-Income Index
The current price-to-income ratio for Washington is 3.41 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 Washington HPI series.1 Median household income data for Washington is from the Census American Community Survey.2
Price-to-Income: FHFA
Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000
Washington, District of Columbia Home Price-to-Income Index History
| Date | FHFA |
|---|---|
| March 2010 | 126.9 |
| December 2009 | 128.7 |
| September 2009 | 128.2 |
| June 2009 | 130.6 |
| March 2009 | 135.3 |
Washington, District of Columbia Home Price-to-Rent Index
The current price-to-rent ratio for Washington is 18.2 as determined by March 2010 Realtor median sales prices. This ratio is calculated using household size adjusted median contract rent for Washington. The chart below shows an index of the rent ratio calculated from the metro FHFA HPI series and the Washington median contract rent data from the Census ACS.
Price-to-Rent: FHFA
Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000
Washington, District of Columbia Home Price-to-Rent Index History
| Date | FHFA |
|---|---|
| March 2010 | 112.5 |
| December 2009 | 114.1 |
| September 2009 | 113.7 |
| June 2009 | 115.8 |
| March 2009 | 120.0 |
Washington, District of Columbia Inferred Affordable Mortgage
The inferred affordable mortgage is determined by taking the median household income for Washington, District of Columbia 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 | $404,739 |
| April 2010 | $395,174 |
| March 2010 | $401,054 |
| February 2010 | $400,141 |
| January 2010 | $398,324 |
| December 2009 | $402,890 |
| November 2009 | $405,203 |
| October 2009 | $401,970 |
| September 2009 | $396,969 |
| August 2009 | $391,180 |
| July 2009 | $389,863 |
| June 2009 | $381,250 |
| May 2009 | $406,134 |