Real Estate Investment Article -California Ranks Lowest in Home Affordability

According to the California Building Industry Association, the California housing market is in an interesting place.

California currently sits as the most unaffordable place to live. Los Angeles County is the least affordable market in the country to purchase a home. With 18 of the bottom 20 markets, California isn't appealing to many pocketbooks.

The data, released by the National Association of Home Builders, shows that only 1.9% of the new and existing homes sold in the first quarter could be afforded by residents earning a median income in Los Angeles County. When compared to the fourth quarter of 2005, there was a 2.3% drop in affordability for the county.

The second-least affordable metro area in the country was Orange County, followed by Santa Barbara County, Stanislaus County and Monterey County. The other California metro areas in the bottom 10 were:

6. San Diego County
7. Merced County
8. Napa County
9. Santa Cruz County

Number ten was a tie between New York City and Long Island.

Nationally, 41.35% of the homes sold in the first quarter of 2006 were considered affordable to consumers with median incomes. For less than half of the 183 metro areas recorded, affordability was greater than 50%. Five areas recorded affordability levels of 90% or more.