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California Home Affordability Posts Slight Improvement in Q1
A slight decrease in mortgage interest rates and home prices made it easier for more Californians to purchase a home during the first quarter of 2024, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said Thursday. Affordability was slightly better for buyers of condominium/townhome properties compared to that for single-family homebuyers.
Seventeen percent of the state’s homebuyers could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in first-quarter 2024, up from 15% in Q4 2023 but down from 20% a year ago. The share of California households that could afford a typical condo/townhome rose to 24% in Q1, up from 22% in the previous quarter and down from 27% in Q1 2023.
In the single-family sector, the Q1 2024 figure is less than one-third of the affordability index peak of 56% in Q1 2012. “With the U.S. economy performing better than expected, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates until at least the summer, hindering any significant improvement in affordability in the coming months,” according to C.A.R..
- ◦Economy
