Home price gains in the Golden State slowed in the fourth quarter, leaving home affordability unchanged from the previous quarter’s five-year low.
The share of homebuyers who could afford to buy a median-priced, existing single-family home in California was 32 percent last quarter, same as in the third quarter when CAR’s affordability index fell under 35 percent for the first time since third-quarter 2008, according to the California Association of Realtors.
The index stood at 48 percent in fourth-quarter 2012 when homebuyers needed an annual income of $66,860 to purchase a home at the median price then, $352,450.
But that median shot up 22.4 percent year over year to $431,510 last quarter, requiring a minimum annual income of $89,240 to qualify to buy. CAR attributes the rise to high demand and lack of housing supply.
California housing affordability hit a record high of 56 percent in first quarter of 2012, but until last quarter had declined for six straight quarters.
Source: CAR
