Home affordability is at 1971 levels, due to falling home prices and record low mortgage rates, pushing home ownership in reach to more families, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Home owners are bringing in nearly double the median income they need to cover the cost of an average home, HousingPredictor reports.

"With interest rates at historically low levels and markets across the country beginning to improve, home ownership is within reach of more households,” Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement.

Home sales have been ticking up, according to recent reports by the National Association of REALTORS®, the National Association of Home Builders, as well as the Obama administration’s December Housing Scorecard.

However, some consumers are finding more stringent lending standards for getting a mortgage a roadblock to home ownership, and some housing experts have blamed tighter underwriting standards in recent years for continuing to hold back the housing market.

Source: “Home Affordability Reaches 1971 Level,” HousingPredictor (Jan. 11, 2012)