A study of housing affordability nationwide ranks Pittsburgh 174th out of 201, according to the Center for Housing Policy.

The report, “Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America,” was released Tuesday. It examines home prices in 201 metropolitan areas and the ability of workers in 60 occupations to purchase a home.

Pittsburgh ranks as the 28th most affordable housing market based on a median price of $123,000 in the third quarter of 2007 as recorded by the National Association of Home Builders.

Cleveland ranked as No. 176, with a median price of $121,000.

San Francisco is the nation’s costliest metro for a home at $770,000. California has the top six home prices with New York City seventh at $525,000.

The nation’s cheapest housing prices — $87,000 — can be found in Davenport, Iowa, and Lima, Ohio.

The Center for Housing Policy is the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference of Washington, D.C. The study can be found at www.nhc.org.

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Business Times

Existing home prices declined nationally in 2007 – likely the first drop in median home prices since the Great Depression.

It is the first annual drop in existing home prices since the National Association of Realtors began collecting data in 1968. But NAR spokesman Walter Molony said academic sources say it is the first annual drop since the Depression.

For all of 2007, the median price of existing homes in the U.S. came in at $218,900 — down 1.4 percent from $221,900 in 2006.

The numbers illustrate the continued housing slump in the U.S. and markets such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Southern California and Miami.

Courtesy of PITTSBURGH BUSINESS TIMES 1/24/2008