Midwest Housing Is Most Affordable

More than half of the 25 most affordable housing markets were found in the Midwest last winter, including Elkhart, Ind., the most affordable of all, a trade group reports.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday that 13 Midwestern cities made the top 25 of its Housing Opportunity Index during the first quarter, from January through March.

But the survey of 179 metropolitan areas found that overall housing affordability dipped a bit because of high interest rates. The study covered 455,000 sales of new and existing homes.

The group’s national opportunity index slipped to 61.2 during the first three months of 1995, down from 62.3 in the final three months of 1994.