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California Housing Affordability Improves Slightly as 2025 Ends

California housing affordability improved slightly in the fourth quarter of 2025, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said Tuesday. Eighteen percent of California households could afford to purchase the $869,300 median-priced home in Q4 2025, up from 17% in Q3 and from 16% a year ago.

More California households (28%) could afford a typical condo/townhome in Q4 2025, rising from 27% in Q3 2025 and 25% in Q4 2024. An annual income of $159,200 was required to make the monthly payment of $3,980 on the $650,000 median-priced condo/townhome in Q4 2025.

Nationally, 39% of the nation’s households could afford to purchase a $414,900 median-priced home, which required a minimum annual income of $101,600 to make monthly mortgage payments of $2,540. Nationwide, affordability edged up from 36% in Q3 and a year ago. The peak of affordability in California was 56% in Q4 2012.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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