Houston homes affordable on global scale

A new report says that Houston homes aren't just some of the most affordable in the country, the Houston real estate market is also among the most affordable in the English-speaking world.

A recent study by Demographia examined the median home prices and median incomes during the third quarter of last year in major cities in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong. Economists said that any city where the median home price was less than three times the median income had very affordable homes.

Among cities with more than 1 million people, Houston homes tied for the 15th-most affordable in the study, with homes costing $160,600 just 2.9 times the median income of $54,500. The most affordable major city in the country was Atlanta.

In addition, no major city outside the U.S. was listed as affordable, and American cities made up 42 of the top 45 most affordable major cities included in the report.

That level of affordability should help boost home sales figures in the local area. Houston home sales numbers have remained below their year-ago levels in every month since the expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit.