Department of Numbers

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Tuscaloosa, Alabama Home Affordability

The data below measures home affordability for the Tuscaloosa, Alabama metropolitan area using price-to-income and price-to-rent metrics.1 The maximum affordable loan amount for the median household income is also calculated. You can also compare Tuscaloosa home affordability to other cities.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Home Price-to-Income Ratios

The second chart shows a history of the ratio as an index calculated from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Tuscaloosa HPI series. Median household income data for Tuscaloosa is from the Census American Community Survey.

Price-to-Income Index Ratio: FHFA

Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Home Price-to-Income Ratio History

Date FHFA (Index Ratio)
December 2013 126.3
September 2013 124.3
June 2013 125.5
March 2013 125.0
December 2012 124.8
September 2012 124.7
June 2012 122.5
March 2012 123.0

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Home Price-to-Rent Ratios

The chart below shows an index of the rent ratio calculated from the metro FHFA HPI series and the Tuscaloosa median contract rent data from the Census ACS.

Price-to-Rent Index Ratio: FHFA

Note: Index set to 100 in Q1 of 2000

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Home Price-to-Rent Ratio History

Date FHFA (Index Ratio)
December 2013 104.0
September 2013 102.3
June 2013 103.3
March 2013 102.9
December 2012 102.7
September 2012 102.6
June 2012 100.9
March 2012 101.3

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Inferred Affordable Mortgage

The inferred affordable mortgage value is determined by taking the median household income for Tuscaloosa, Alabama 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

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Inferred Affordable Mortgage History

Date Inferred Mortgage
February 2014 $195,752
January 2014 $192,767
December 2013 $192,088
November 2013 $196,685
October 2013 $198,332
September 2013 $191,413
August 2013 $192,088
July 2013 $194,137
June 2013 $201,205
May 2013 $214,661
April 2013 $217,077
March 2013 $213,864
February 2013 $214,927

1. Specifically, home prices are from the non seasonally adjusted FHFA all-transactions quarterly series. Dollar ratios are calculated using NAR metro prices when available. Rent and income data are from the Census ACS and are carried forward into the following year prior to release of the new data. ↩

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