The metropolitan areas of Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., tied for the title of most affordable major U.S. housing market in this year’s first quarter, according to the June 28 Housing Opportunity Index.

The metropolitan areas of Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., tied for the title of most affordable major U.S. housing market in this year’s first quarter, according to the June 28 National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. Meanwhile, lower home prices and mortgage interest rates helped boost housing affordability across the nation in the first three months of this year.

The report shows that nearly 44 percent of new and existing homes sold in the United States during the first quarter of 2007 were affordable to families earning the national median income. This is up from 41.6 percent of homes sold in the final quarter of 2006.

The median sales price of all Indianapolis homes sold in the first quarter was $116,000. The median sales price of all Youngstown-area homes sold was just $78,000. Also near the top of the list for affordable major metros in the first quarter was Dayton, Ohio, followed by Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., and Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich., respectively.

At the bottom of the affordability scale was Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., where just 3 percent of homes sold in the first quarter were affordable to families earning the metro’s median household income of $61,700. The median price of all homes sold in that area was $525,000.