The Soldier and Sailor's Memorial Arch in Hartford's Bushnell Park. Photo courtesy of Helder Mira / CC BY 2.0

Despite a big jump in mortgage rates and very low inventory that’s pushing home prices higher, Greater Hartford remains one of the nation’s most affordable housing markets, a new report says.

Real estate data firm Black Knight said the metro area is the seventh-most affordable based on the ratio between the monthly Greater Hartford median household income and the monthly payment on the average-priced home in the region.

That ratio sits at 26.8 percent, the company’s researchers said in their monthly Mortgage Monitor report. The most affordable metro, by Black Knight’s calculations, is Cleveland, Ohio, with a payment-to-income ratio of 24.1 percent.

Still, Hartford-area home prices may not feel like they’re all that affordable to some – Black Knight calculated the region’s monthly payment-to-income ratio is up 730 basis points over the long-term average between 1995 and 2003. And, by Black Knight’s calculations, the region’s median home price is now 10.7 percent above its 2022 peak on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The statewide median single-family sale price in July rose 3 percent year-over-year to $402,500, while the median condominium sale price rose 13 percent to $265,000 according to data from The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.