
California Housing Affordability Sinks to 2007 Levels
Housing affordability in California slid to the lowest level in nearly 16 years as interest rates stayed above 6% for the third consecutive quarter and prices remained elevated by a shortage of homes on the market, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) said Friday. Affordability declined in 47 California counties and remained unchanged in four during the second quarter, said C.A.R.
Just 16% of prospective home buyers could afford to buy an existing medium-sized, single-family home in Q2, down from 17% in the year-ago period. For condos and townhomes, the percentage of would-be buyers who could afford a median-priced $640,000 unit was 25%. unchanged from a year ago.
Compared with California, more than a third of the nation’s households could afford to purchase a $402,600 median-priced home, which required a minimum annual income of $100,800 to make monthly payments of $2,520. Nationwide affordability was down from 38% a year ago, according to C.A.R.
- ◦Economy