Cooling real estate market still leaves many buyers out in cold
The cooling real estate market offers a bit of good news for cash-strapped home buyers: The affordability squeeze has eased slightly.
But the income needed to buy a typical home is still twice what it was four years ago.
Buying a median-priced home in Martin and St. Lucie counties in the first three months of the year required an annual household income of $54,587, down from the $54,954 needed to qualify for a loan for the median home in the fourth quarter of last year. The median price means half the homes cost more and half cost less.