5 least affordable housing markets (and most affordable ones, too)

Rank: #4 least affordable
Median home price: $464,000
Median income: $66,000
% of homes sold that are affordable*: 23%

New York continues to see its population grow but with limited land to build on, competition for homes is extremely high.

Inflating home prices further are foreign investors who are buying up expensive condos and townhouses.

With relatively low median incomes, it's a real struggle for most New York city families to afford to buy at these prices. The home ownership rate within New York's five boroughs is less than 33%, half the national average, according to NAHB/Wells Fargo's index.

First published November 14, 2013: 11:31 AM ET

Source: Source: National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index
*The Housing Opportunity Index is the percentage of new and existing homes sold that families earning the area's median income could afford during the third quarter ended September 30, 2013. Prices of new and existing homes are based on figures from CoreLogic and mortgage data is based on rates reported by the Federal Housing Financing Agency.

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