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Entry-level housing affordability more than doubles

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 20) The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California stood at 53 percent in the third quarter of 2008, compared with 24 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the California Association of Realtors.

C.A.R.’s First Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measured the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California. C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.

The minimum household income needed to purchase an entry-level home at $287,760 in California in the third quarter of 2008 was $56,100, based on an adjustable interest rate of 5.91 percent and assuming a 10 percent down payment. First-time buyers typically purchase a home equal to 85 percent of the prevailing median price. The monthly payment including taxes and insurance was $1,870 for the third quarter of 2008.

At $56,100, the minimum qualifying income was 44 percent lower than a year earlier when households needed $100,500 to qualify for a loan on an entry-level home. Recent decreases in home prices and mortgage rates have brought affordability into better alignment with income levels of the typical California households, where the median household income is $59,160.

The First-Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index also rose 5 percentage points in the third quarter of this year compared to the second quarter of 2008, due to an 11.9 percent decrease in the entry-level median home price.

At 73 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable area in the state. The San Francisco Bay Area region was the least affordable in the state at 35 percent, followed by the San Luis Obispo County region at 38 percent.

C.A.R. First-Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index

* -- percentage of California households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home

r – revised

Source:  CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Source:  CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®