The Fiserv report showed that the ratio of monthly mortgage payment to median family income is the lowest it's been since 1994.
Some of the country's metro areas saw large home price gains in the past year, including Detroit, which increased 11.1 percent; Buffalo, New York, increasing 6.7 percent; and Fort Myers, Florida, increasing 2.8 percent.
"We stand by our projection that average U.S. home prices will move sideways in 2012," David Stiff, economist at Fiserv said. "But we do anticipate that increasing sales activity will begin to drive small increases in prices in as many as half of U.S. metro areas. Some larger metro areas that escaped the worst of the home price bubble, such as Houston, Fort Worth and Salt Lake City, can expect increases of 1 to 3 percent. Many smaller metro areas, such as Boise and Albuquerque, are forecast to see increases of 4 to 6 percent."
A recent Fannie Mae Survey also showed that of 1,000 people, 71 percent believe that now is a good time to buy a house, with only 11 percent who think packing up and selling homes is a good idea right now.
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