Even with home prices marching ever upward and mortgage rates bouncing back more than a full percentage point over last year, Capital Economics’ Paul Diggle insists housing affordability is still as good as most other experts say it is—if not better. Explaining that affordability measures “the burden of mortgage payments relative to income,” Diggle notes that the latest data from the National Association of Realtors shows that a family earning the median income has 178 percent of the income necessary to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home. At the same time, typical mortgage payments currently average 17 percent of median income, up from recent months but below the long-run average of 22 percent. In the firm’s latest US Housing Market Focus, Diggle notes that long-term trends show prices are up 15 percent below their trend level, with the ratio of Case-Shiller prices to disposal incomes per capital pointing to housing being about 16 percent below fair value. However, when comparing median household income to median home prices, Diggle says housing looks “no better than fairly valued.”
LOS ANGELES – MMAjunkie is on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC 227 event, and you can join us for live play-by-play and official results beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT). The event takes place at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The main card airs on pay-per-view following preliminary-card bouts on FX and UFC Fight Pass. In the main event, bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw (15-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) rematches former champ and ex-teammate Cody Garbrandt (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) for the title. In the co-feature, flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) has a rematch with Olympic gold medalist and former title challenger Henry Cejudo (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). Follow along with our round-by-round updates and official results beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET for the UFC Fight Pass prelims, 8 p.m. ET for the prelims on FX, and 10 p.m. ET for the main card on pay-per-view. To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC 227 discussion thread...