New data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) found that 17% of the state’s homebuyers could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home during the first quarter of this year. This up from 15% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
However, the first quarter’s share was also down from 20% one year earlier and was also less than a third of CAR’s housing affordability index peak of 56% in the first quarter of 2012.
A minimum annual income of $208,400 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $814,280 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the first quarter, while the monthly payment – including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan – would be $5,210, assuming a 20% down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 6.86%.
The share of California households that could afford a typical condo/townhome in the first quarter was 24%, up from 22 percent recorded in the previous quarter but down from the 27% one year earlier. An annual income of $167,600 was required to make the monthly payment of $4,190 on the $655,000 median-priced condo/townhome in the first quarter.
CAR also noted in comparison to California, nearly four in 10 of the nation’s households could afford to purchase a $389,400 median-priced home, which required a minimum annual income of $99,600 to make monthly payments of $2,490. Nationwide affordability was down from 40% year-over-year.
;
