Real Estate

Realtors: Percentage of L.A. County's Able Homebuyers Dropping

There were 36 percent of people who could buy a median-priced single family home in the second quarter of the year.

Written by City News Service

With home prices continuing to rise, so is the number of people who can't afford to purchase a house, the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors announced earlier this week.

The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median- priced, existing single-family home in California during the second quarter of the year was 36 percent, down from 44 percent in the first quarter and down from 51 percent in the same quarter last year, according to CAR.

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In Los Angeles County, 37 percent of home buyers could afford to purchase a house, down from 42 percent in the first quarter and 49 percent in the second quarter of 2012. In Orange County, the percentage in the second quarter was 23 percent, down from 28 percent in the first quarter and 35 percent in the same quarter last year.

CAR's Housing Affordability Index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced single-family home and, according to CAR, is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state.

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According to CAR, home buyers needed an annual income of $79,910 to qualify for the purchase of a $415,770 statewide median-price single-family home in the second quarter. The monthly payment would be $2,000, assuming a 20 percent downpayment and interest rate of 3.64 percent on a 30-year fixed loan.

Nearly all regions of the state experienced significant quarter-over- quarter declines in housing affordability, with Bay Area and coastal regions experiencing the greatest drops, according to CAR.

At an index of 71 percent, Madera County was the most affordable county of the state while San Francisco and San Mateo counties tied for the least affordable at 17 percent.


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