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TH E M REP O RT | 41 ORIGINATION LOCAL EDITION been rising steadily this past year, housing is still very af- fordable in historical terms," said Tom O'Grady, CEO. "Most markets still have a way to go to reach their previous peak. With some modest improvement in employment and still historically low mortgage rates, housing as a whole is affordable. The real problem for many potential homebuyers is other debt, such as student loans for first-time buyers and tight credit." The company noted that Miami's affordability index is currently holding steady at 140. When prices peaked in Miami in 2007, the affordability index reached a low of 58, eventually rising to a peak of more than 160. "On the other hand, Houston, historically very affordable, did not see the bubble of many other markets and with strong employment, housing has seen prices increase leading to a downturn in affordability," O'Grady said. He continued, "Over the last year, the affordability index went from 245 to 200, still very afford- able—but some markets in good commuting distance to downtown have seen an even more dramatic increase in home values and a cor- relating drop in affordability." The company also released its analysis of the best and worst performing metros in the nation. For single-family home markets, top metros for mar- ket conditions include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California; Sacramento-Roseville- Arden-Arcade, California; San Rafael, California; Santa Rosa, California; and Lubbock, Texas. The worst metros all share some similar indicators of why they are underperforming. "The bottom 10 are fairly con- sistent in three indicators: sales change percentage; active-days- on-market percent change; and foreclosure ratio percent change," O'Grady said. "Sales are slowing down, days on the market are growing, and the percentage of foreclosure sales are increasing, all leading to a softer market." The bottom-performing met- ros on Pro Teck's list include Akron, Ohio; Flint, Michigan; Gary, Indiana; Hagerstown- Martinsburg, Maryland/West Virginia; and Jacksonville, North Carolina. 12 70 0 PA R K CE N T R A L DR . , S UI T E 8 5 0 | D A L L A S , T E X A S 75 2 51 | W W W. R RU H L L AW.CO M | IN F O @ R R U H L L AW.CO M | 877.76 6 . 6 677 ® CUSTOMER SERVICE IS "RUHL" NUMBER ONE! 1 # ™ ™ LOSS MITIGATION LOAN ORIGINATION