Housing Affordability Index

The housing affordability index measures if the median income family can afford a mortgage for a home in the area. Larger values indicate greater affordability. 

Sources: “Housing Affordability,” National Association of Realtors, Datasheet retrieved from https://www.nar.realtor/. Data visualization provided by the UWF Haas Center.

The federal funds target rate influences the rate at which depository institutions trade federal funds overnight. As the target rate rises, so does the cost of capital, leading to higher interest rates across the market. The decrease in housing affordability in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area has been impacted by the rise in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate from 2021 to 2023. Despite an increase in the median household income in the Pensacola Metro area, housing costs have outpaced wage inflation. The simultaneous increase in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate and the median household income has contributed to decreased housing affordability in the Pensacola Metro area in 2022.