Housing Facts

  • Nine out of the 10 least affordable communities in the nation are in California. The state has 26 markets of the bottom 32 for affordability.
  • The median price of an entry-level home in California has soared above $500,000 during the second quarter of 2007. It takes an income of more than $100,000-close to twice the state median-to afford such a home.
  • Only 16% of Californians could afford to buy a median-priced home in June 2005. That was down 2% since June 2004. Nationally, 48% of the population could afford a median-priced home that same month.
  • In 2000, California's homeownership rate is the third worst in the nation behind New York and Hawaii at 59.6%. It is 10 percentage points below the national average.
  • For every $1,000 added to the cost of a home in government fees, 217,000 prospective buyers are priced out of eligibility. For every $1,000 added to the cost of a mortgage, $2,160 is paid over the life of a 6% interest, 30-year loan.
  • In Livermore, California, government fees add more than $118,000 to the cost of a new home. That equals an additional $707 every month on the mortgage of a 6% interest loan. After 30 years, that homeowner has paid $254,520 for those fees.
  • The California Department of Finance estimates that the state needs to produce 250,000 new homes, condos and apartments per year to meet the demand of our growing population.
  • Half of California's annual population growth is concentrated in the six-county region surrounding Los Angeles.
  • The production of townhomes and condos – California's most affordable market – plummeted between 1994 and 1999 from 18,691 units a year to 2,945, an 84% drop.
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