NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index for the Oct. through Dec. 2000 was 132.9, up 8.2% from 124.7 reported in the third quarter. That score is 1.8 points below the same period a year earlier when it stood at 134.7.

These numbers show that half the nation's households had at least 132.9% of the income needed to purchase a home at the fourth quarter median existing-home price, which was $139,400. This index measures affordability factors based on home buyers making a 20% down-payment, with an index of 100 defined as the point where a median-income family has the exact amount of income needed to purchase a median-priced existing home. The fourth-quarter median family income was $51,282.

This upswing shows that housing affordability is moving in the right direction, NAR president Richard A. Mendenhall is reported as saying. In light of the economic slowdown, this level of affordability should keep the housing market moving.