Indianapolis has been named the most affordable big-city market for housing in the nation. The metro Indianapolis area’s measure of the affordability of homes is higher than any other major metropolitan location in the nation.

These findings were based on sales and listing prices in the first quarter of 2012 and released by the National Association of Home Builders.

Nearly 96 percent of the new and existing homes that sold in the last quarter were to families who earned an income of $66,900 – Indianapolis’ median income.

Factors like a large number of moderately priced residences and overall job stability. Those factors, combined with a drop in the price of homes, were enough to bump Indianapolis into the top spot on the housing opportunity index.

The affordability of homes across the nation hit a record high in the first three months of 2012.

In 2007, the median price of a home in the metro Indianapolis area was $116,000. In the first quarter of 2012, that number had dropped to $102,000. Low rates on mortgages nationwide have helped drive down the cost of homes overall.