WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury has released the December edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. Data in the December Housing Scorecard show some subtle improvements in the market over the past year, but underscore fragility as the overall outlook remains mixed. For example, new and existing home sales rose compared to the prior month and remain higher than a year ago, and homes are more affordable than they have been since 1971. Median-income families today have nearly double the funds needed to cover the cost of the average home. However, home prices showed a slight dip from the prior month and remain below year ago levels. The full report is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard.

HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic said, “As we compare today’s data to market data from last year – and certainly from the economic conditions when we took office in 2009 – it’s clear that we’ve made important progress in recovering from this housing crisis. But with so many homeowners still struggling to pay their mortgages or move into more sustainable loans, we can not rest on our laurels. There is still a lot of work to do. That’s why the Obama Administration continues to push hard for effective implementation of our recovery programs to help more underwater borrowers and unemployed or underemployed homeowners stay in their homes whenever possible.”More on Obama Administration Releases December Housing Scorecard

More on Obama Administration Releases December Housing Scorecard