Quarterly median housing prices and Housing Affordability Index from Snohomish County and the state of Washington, per the University of Washington Runstad Department of Real Estate. Data available at: http://realestate.washington.edu/research/wcrer/housing-reports. The Housing Affordability Index measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home. A value of 100 means that a family with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. For example, a composite HAI of 120.0 means a family earning the median family income has 120% of the income necessary to qualify for a conventional loan covering 80 percent of a median-priced existing single-family home.

Tags: economy