The top of chart 5 shows that the ratio of house prices to per capita disposable income has increased substantially since 1998. But owing to the decline in mortgage rates, this has not made housing less affordable.
The bottom of chart 5 shows an index of housing “affordability,” which compares the mortgage payment on a typical home to median household income; high levels of the index mean greater affordability. Although house prices outpaced income through much of the late 1990s, housing remained quite affordable by historical standards.