The state with the highest housing affordability is …

Record-low interest rates and low median home prices have made Texas the state with the most affordable homes, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Fort Worth is the state’s most affordable major metro, while Austin has the highest median home price.

“The home purchasing power of a dollar in income increases dramatically as interest rates fall,” says Jim Gaines, research economist with the Real Estate Center. “With an 80% loan at 10% interest, $1 of income buys about $3 of housing. At 7%, it buys $4 of housing. At 4%, it buys nearly $5.50.”

But the gap between Texas and the rest of the nation is narrowing. The national median home price fell 25% from 2006-2011, while the median price in Texas increased 4%. Gaines says that Texas affordability may soon decrease as home prices begin to rise faster than incomes in some areas of the state.