Friday, February 10, 2017

Higher wages and seasonal price declines hold California housing affordability in check

• Thirty-one percent of California households could afford to purchase the $511,360 median-priced home in the fourth quarter, unchanged from third-quarter 2016 and up from 30 percent in fourth-quarter 2015.
• A minimum annual income of $100,800 was needed to make monthly payments of $2,520, including principal, interest, and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 3.91 percent interest rate.
• Forty percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $413,700 median-priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $81,550 was required to make a monthly payment of $2,040.
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 9) – Rising wages and seasonal price declines held California’s housing affordability steady in fourth-quarter 2016, even while interest rates rose moderately, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in fourth-quarter 2016 remained at 31 percent, unchanged from the third quarter of 2016 but was up from 30 percent in fourth-quarter 2015, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). This is the 15th consecutive quarter that the index has been below 40 percent and is near the mid-2008 low level of 29 percent. California’s housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the third quarter of 2012.
C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California. C.A.R. also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state.
Home buyers needed to earn a minimum annual income of $100,800 to qualify for the purchase of a $511,360 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the fourth quarter of 2016. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, would be $2,520, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 3.91 percent. The effective composite interest rate in third-quarter 2016 was 3.76 percent and 4.07 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. 
Homes were slightly more affordable in fourth-quarter 2016 compared to fourth-quarter 2015, when the affordability index stood at 30 and the median home price was $484,710. An annual income of $96,980 was needed to make monthly payments of $2,420. 
The affordability of condominiums and townhomes also was flat compare to the previous quarter. Forty percent of California households earned the minimum income to qualify for the purchase of a $413,700 median-priced condominium or townhome in the fourth quarter of 2016, and an annual income of $81,550 was required to make monthly payments of $2,040.
Key points from the fourth-quarter 2016 Housing Affordability report include:
• Compared to affordability in third-quarter 2016, eight of 29 counties tracked saw an improvement in housing affordability (Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Madera), 10 experienced a decline (San Francisco, Sonoma, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Kern, Kings, Merced, and San Joaquin), and 11 were unchanged (Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano,  San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Placer, Sacramento, Stanislaus, and Tulare).
• Only three (Contra Costa, Marin, Napa) of nine Bay Area counties recorded higher affordability numbers than the previous quarter, as higher earning Bay Area workers drove up home prices. Housing affordability results were mixed in Southern California but largely declined in Central Valley counties (Kern, Kings, Merced, San Joaquin).
• During the fourth quarter of 2016, the most affordable counties in California were Kings (56 percent); Kern (55 percent); San Bernardino (54 percent); and Fresno (50 percent).
• San Francisco (13 percent), San Mateo (15 percent), and Santa Cruz (17 percent) counties were the least affordable areas in the state.  
Housing Affordability slides (click link to open)
Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than185,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles. 
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index
Fourth quarter 2016

C.A.R. RegionHousing 
Affordability Index
Median Home 
Price
Monthly Payment Including Taxes & InsuranceMinimum 
Qualifying Income
CA SFH 31 $           511,360 $               2,520 $           100,800
CA Condo/Townhomes40 $           413,700 $               2,040 $             81,550
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area34 $           463,050 $               2,280 $             91,280
Inland Empire46 $           317,710 $               1,570 $             62,630
S.F. Bay Area25 $           797,170 $               3,930 $           157,140
US58 $           235,000 $               1,160 $             46,320
     
S.F. Bay Area    
Alameda22 $           779,500 $               3,840 $           153,650
Contra-Costa39 $           550,000 $               2,710 $           108,410
Marin20 $       1,149,500 $               5,660 $           226,590
Napa26 $           620,000 $               3,060 $           122,210
San Francisco13 $       1,353,000 $               6,670 $           266,700
San Mateo15 $       1,300,000 $               6,410 $           256,250
Santa Clara22 $       1,005,000 $               4,950 $           198,100
Solano45 $           392,500 $               1,930 $             77,370
Sonoma26 $           589,000 $               2,900 $           116,100
Southern California    
Los Angeles28 $           503,400 $               2,480 $             99,230
Orange County22 $           745,160 $               3,670 $           146,880
Riverside County41 $           356,380 $               1,760 $             70,250
San Bernardino54 $           251,100 $               1,240 $             49,500
San Diego26 $           593,040 $               2,920 $           116,900
Ventura31 $           629,860 $               3,100 $           124,160
Central Coast    
Monterey27 $           507,000 $               2,500 $             99,940
San Luis Obispo25 $           566,550 $               2,790 $           111,680
Santa Barbara21 $           681,340 $               3,360 $           134,300
Santa Cruz17 $           800,000 $               3,940 $           157,690
Central Valley    
Fresno50 $           237,300 $               1,170 $             46,780
Kern (Bakersfield)55 $           225,810 $               1,110 $             44,510
Kings County56 $           215,170 $               1,060 $             42,410
Madera49 $           229,790 $               1,130 $             45,300
Merced48 $           230,720 $               1,140 $             45,480
Placer County46 $           434,720 $               2,140 $             85,690
Sacramento45 $           324,300 $               1,600 $             63,930
San Joaquin43 $           324,570 $               1,600 $             63,980
Stanislaus48 $           276,000 $               1,360 $             54,400
Tulare49 $      212,680 $               1,050 $             41,920
r = revised

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index
Fourth quarter 2016
STATE/REGION/COUNTYQ4 2016Q3 2016 Q4 2015 
CA SFH 3131 30 
CA Condo/Townhomes4040 39 
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area3434 32 
Inland Empire4646 45 
S.F. Bay Area2526R24 
US5857 58 
      
S.F. Bay Area     
Alameda2222 22 
Contra-Costa3937R38R
Marin2019 17 
Napa2625 21 
San Francisco1314 11 
San Mateo1515 14 
Santa Clara2222 20 
Solano4545 46R
Sonoma2627 28R
Southern California     
Los Angeles2826 27 
Orange County2223 21 
Riverside County4142 39 
San Bernardino5455 53 
San Diego2626 25 
Ventura3130 26 
Central Coast     
Monterey2725 25 
San Luis Obispo2525 26 
Santa Barbara2120 20 
Santa Cruz1718 21 
Central Valley     
Fresno5050 49 
Kern (Bakersfield)5556 55 
Kings County5657 61 
Madera4947 48 
Merced4850 55 
Placer County4646 44 
Sacramento4545 46 
San Joaquin4344 46R
Stanislaus4848 45R
Tulare4949 54 
r = revised

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