Thanks to low rates and depressed home prices, it may be the best time to buy a house in history.
The Housing Affordability Index from the National Association of Realtors is based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate.
A middle-class family earning slightly less than $61,000 could afford a home costing $325,000 in the first quarter, nearly double the cost of a national median single-family ($158,000).
Said president Moe Veissi: "For those with good credit, we've never seen better housing affordability conditions or market opportunities than we see at present."
Here's a look at the index over time:
