Highlights from the Q1 Report:
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- Compared to the previous quarter, housing affordability in the first quarter of 2022 declined in all but two of 51 counties. Affordability was improved in Mendocino County and remained unchanged in Humboldt County.
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- In the Southern California region, housing affordability deteriorated in all counties. Orange County was the least affordable at 13 percent, while San Bernardino County was the most affordable at 39 percent of households able to purchase the $460,000 median-priced home.
- Mono (7 percent), Santa Barbara (12 percent), Santa Cruz (13 percent), and Orange (13 percent) were the least affordable counties in the state, with each of them requiring at least a minimum income of $205,600 to purchase a median-priced home in the county.
- Twenty-four percent of California households could afford to purchase the $797,000 median-priced home in the first quarter of 2022, down from 25 percent in fourth-quarter 2021 and down from 27 percent in first-quarter 2021.
- A minimum annual income of $158,000 was needed to make monthly payments of $3,950, including principal, interest, and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 3.97 percent interest rate.
- Thirty-two percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $640,000 median-priced condo or townhome. A minimum annual income of $126,800 was required to make a monthly payment of $3,170.
