Figure 11. Comparison of Affordability With and Without Transportation Considered
Source: H + T Index, Center for Neighborhood Technology (2016)
Financing
It should be noted that the discussion of
affordable homeownership has been examined
mostly through the lens of income rather than
access to financing.
lenders). One impact of the 2007-09
recession on prospective homebuyers has
been the tightening access to credit and
mortgage financing.
For some prospective homeowners,
the barrier to entering the housing
market is not necessarily the cost of
housing and/or the supply of affordable
units, but rather access to financing (or at
least access to credible and responsible
This change is attributable to stricter
regulations of the mortgage and lending
industry and tightened lending and
underwriting standards for families with
less than excellent credit. For several years,
the average credit score of a denied loan
was similar to the average credit score of a
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