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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 97 affordable to those who earn the state's median income. Kapfidze noted that even if a state might appear affordable, not every town or city within it will be affordable to someone making the state's median income. In every capital city in these 13 states, except Boston, median priced homes are af- fordable to median income earners. Boston is notoriously pricey, and a median income would not be enough to afford the monthly payment on a median priced home, compared to more affordable capital cities such as Concord, New Hampshire and Raleigh, North Carolina, which are more affordable to median income earners. New Hampshire is the most affordable of the original 13 states, with a median home value of $244,900 and a median salary of $71,305. New Hampshire capital Concord is also the most affordable capital, with a median home value of $212,600, and a median salary of $61,310. e least affordable state is New York, with a median home value of $293,000, which is less than Massachuset's median value of $352,600, but New York's median income is slightly less, at $62,765, plus it has an affordability surplus of just $292. is solution provides HSBC's customers with a modern, improved way of applying for and closing a mortgage and delivers transparency to both the customer and lending team from start to finish, for an optimal experience." NEW JERSEY A New Approach to Affordable Housing New Jersey is looking to preserve afford- able housing through new foreclosure law, NJ Spotlight reports. Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed a law which would require mortgage holders to notify the municipality where the home is located when foreclosure proceedings on a home that is deed-restricted as affordable begin. e goal is to give municipalities option to buy homes that are deed-restricted for low- and moderate-income purchasers. "We feel it is critical New Jersey does not lose any affordable homes," said Nina Rain- iero, a Spokeswoman for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey on NJ Spotlight. "Public funds were invested into making these homes affordable and this bill ensures that public investment will not be lost because of foreclosure. Plus, it provides another family an opportunity to live in a home that's affordable." According to Gov. Murphy, the bill did not go as far as originally intended. Murphy had conditionally vetoed the measure, S-362, last May, stating that Federal Housing Adminis- tration (FHA) regulations expressly prohibit the use of FHA loans to purchase a property whose deed restriction will not expire with a foreclosure. "is bill may actually hurt the very low- and moderate-income families it is intended to benefit by making it more difficult for these families to obtain a mortgage," Murphy wrote in a statement. "is bill would effectively pre- clude all prospective affordable unit homeown- ers from accessing any FHA loan or insurance products." Murphy stated that the plan would "fur- ther disadvantage" prospective purchasers of affordable units because they would no longer qualify for a financial assistance program offered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency that includes a 3.5% down payment option and $10,000 to cover the down payment and closing costs. According to Murphy, the current legisla- tion puts the question of trying to maintain a low-cost unit in the hands of local officials, ensuring "that municipalities do not miss an opportunity to intervene in foreclosure proceedings and, where appropriate, preserve a home's affordability controls," Murphy wrote in the conditional veto. NEW HAMPSHIRE Home Affordability in the "Original Colonies" Despite being among the 13 original U.S. states that are among the country's most desir- able and expensive areas to live in, Concord New Hampshire remains an affordable hous- ing market, according to LendingTree. "LendingTree, has taken a look at the states that were present at the birth of the coun- try," LendingTree Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze said. "Specifically, we analyzed the modern-day states born out of the 13 colonies that declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776." e analysis indicated that the weighted average home price in the former 13 colonies is $239,351, $27,000 higher than the weighted average home price of $212,635 for the rest of the U.S. Despite their age, these areas are cultural hubs, with some of the nation's largest economies, meaning there is still high demand for housing in these states. While the average home price was high, the median home price in each state studied is Pennsylvania The Team with More than 10 Years' REO Experience Emma Djiya, Broker 1st Class Realty 98 Forest Drive, Lords Valley, PA 18428 610.301.8803 (c) 570.775.6110 (o) 1stClassREO@gmail.com AroundThePoconos.com THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. New Jersey would be among the top states most at risk from floods by 2100, an analysis by Zillow revealed. The state will have 282,354 homes at risk from sea-level rise and 10-year floods by 2100. KNOW THIS

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