Letter to the Editor: "Is this 'affordable' housing?"

A Letter to the Editor from Randy Syverson of Decorah:

"After reading the article about the planned housing development (in Decorah), it made me ponder the question, "Is Decorah an expensive place to live?"  

The article said the housing market is flooded with $400,000 to $500,000 homes and there is a need for $200,000 to $250,000 homes.  To afford a $250,000 home, you would have to earn a minimum of $85,000 a year.  You would have to earn $135,000 a year to afford a $400,000 home (A general rule of thumb is a house price should be a maximum of three times your yearly gross income to play it safe).  The average Decorah household income is $46,000 and family median income is $66,000.  There must be a lot of out of towners moving in!"