Dive Brief:

• A Trulia study cited by the National Association of Realtors found that in 14 of the nation's 100 largest metros, more tha n 50% of the homes on the market were out of reach for a median-income buyer.
• "Affordable" for this study meant that a buyer would pay less than 31% of the metro area's median income as a mortgage payment after figuring in a 20% down payment for the house and the cost of taxes and insurance.
• The biggest fall-off in affordable homes has been in California.

Dive Insight:

This data, while not showing a problem in most of the large city areas of the U.S., appears to dovetail with The Wall Street Journal's report that incentives for buyers are making their way back into home builders' strategies. It also fits with the overall feeling that the housing recovery is uncertain, or at least not a return to how things were before the recession.