Housing affordability in California in the first quarter reached its highest level in four years, according to data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR).
During the first three months of the year, CAR determined that 22% of the state’s homebuyers could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home, up from 21% in the prior quarter and 19% one year before.
A minimum annual income of $204,800 was required to make the monthly payment of $5,120, including principal, interest, and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.24% in California. The minimum income required in first-quarter 2026 was $32,000 lower than the record high reached in second-quarter 2024, and it was the 13th time in the past 14 quarters that the minimum required income exceeded $200,000.
The first quarter’s statewide median price of a detached, existing single-family home in California declined 3% to $843,390 – this marked the third consecutive quarter-to-quarter price decline. On an annual basis, California recorded its first price decline since mid-2023, as the statewide median price dipped 0.5% from the first quarter of 2025.
For the condo/townhome market, CAR found that 32% of California households could afford a typical residence in that sector, up from 31% in the prior quarter and 27% one year earlier. A minimum annual income of $157,200 was needed to make monthly payments of $3,930 on a $648,000 median priced condo/townhome in first-quarter 2026.
CAR also noted that the minimum required annual income to purchase a median-priced US home was less than half that of California’s for the ninth consecutive quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, the median US home price stood at $404,300, which required a minimum annual income of $98,000 to make monthly payments of $2,540. Nationwide, affordability improved to 44%, up from 42% in the fourth quarter and 40% from the first quarter of 2025.
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