Affordability indexes from First American and NAR show recent improvement

True

Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.

Interesting: 0/0 • Support: 0/0Log in to vote

other

Confirm the cited First American Real House Price Index and NAR Housing Affordability Index releases show the stated recent gains and multi-month/three-year improvements.

Source summary
The White House reports improving signs in the U.S. housing market — including lower mortgage rates, a rebound in existing home sales, and stronger affordability indexes — and attributes momentum to income growth and easing borrowing costs. The Trump administration says it is pursuing additional measures, such as directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities and taking steps to limit large institutional purchases of single-family homes to increase inventory for individual buyers.
Latest fact check

First American’s Real House Price Index release for October 2025 reports that real house prices fell 1.1% from September and 4.2% year-over-year, and explicitly states that housing affordability improved year-over-year for the eighth consecutive month, reaching its best level since the summer of 2022—evidence of sustained recent gains in affordability on that measure. The National Association of Realtors’ October 2025 Housing Affordability Index report shows the index rising to 106.2, above 100 for the third straight month and 3.6% higher than a year earlier, as incomes increased and mortgage rates eased, which NAR describes as an improvement in national affordability. FRED’s series for the fixed-rate Housing Affordability Index, sourced from NAR, corroborates that the index climbed through mid‑ to late‑2025, including the October 2025 value of 106.2. While both sources note affordability remains worse than pre‑pandemic norms, they clearly show recent improvement. Verdict: True — Both the First American Real House Price Index and NAR’s Housing Affordability Index document recent gains in affordability, aligning with the statement that housing affordability has improved recently on these measures.

Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 15, 2026, 03:16 AMTrue
    First American’s Real House Price Index release for October 2025 reports that real house prices fell 1.1% from September and 4.2% year-over-year, and explicitly states that housing affordability improved year-over-year for the eighth consecutive month, reaching its best level since the summer of 2022—evidence of sustained recent gains in affordability on that measure. The National Association of Realtors’ October 2025 Housing Affordability Index report shows the index rising to 106.2, above 100 for the third straight month and 3.6% higher than a year earlier, as incomes increased and mortgage rates eased, which NAR describes as an improvement in national affordability. FRED’s series for the fixed-rate Housing Affordability Index, sourced from NAR, corroborates that the index climbed through mid‑ to late‑2025, including the October 2025 value of 106.2. While both sources note affordability remains worse than pre‑pandemic norms, they clearly show recent improvement. Verdict: True — Both the First American Real House Price Index and NAR’s Housing Affordability Index document recent gains in affordability, aligning with the statement that housing affordability has improved recently on these measures.
  2. Original article · Jan 14, 2026

Comments

Only logged-in users can comment.
Loading…