C.A.R. news release: 2nd quarter housing affordability
Higher housing prices and tight inventory drag down California housing affordability; income required to buy doubles in five years, C.A.R. reports
• Twenty-nine percent of California households could afford to purchase the $553,260 median-priced home in the second quarter of 2017, down from 32 percent in first-quarter 2017 and down from 31 percent in second-quarter 2016.
• A minimum annual income of $110,890 was needed to make monthly payments of $2,770, including principal, interest, and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 4.09 percent interest rate.
• Thirty-eight percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $443,400 median-priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $88,870 was required to make a monthly payment of $2,220.
LOS ANGELES (Aug. 9) – Higher home prices resulting from a severe lack of homes for sale and high demand during the hot home-buying season eroded California’s housing affordability in the second quarter, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in second-quarter 2017 fell to 29 percent, down from 32 percent in the first quarter of 2017 and down from 31 percent in the second quarter a year ago, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). This is the 17th consecutive quarter that the index has been below 40 percent and the lowest since third-quarter 2015. California’s housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the first quarter of 2012.
C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California. C.A.R. also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state.
A minimum annual income of $110,890 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $553,260 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the second quarter of 2017. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, would be $2,770, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 4.09 percent. The effective composite interest rate in first-quarter 2017 was 4.36 percent and 3.85 percent in the second quarter of 2016.
Home prices have nearly doubled since affordability reached its highest level five years ago, and compared to then, home buyers now need twice the income to purchase a median-priced home. In the first quarter of 2012, buyers statewide needed a minimum annual income of $56,320 to purchase a home that was priced $279,190. And in the San Francisco Bay Area, a home buyer needed a minimum annual income of $90,370 to purchase a $447,970 priced home just five years ago. Compare that to the current minimum income of $179,390 needed to purchase an $895,000 priced home now.
Realtors®, House Financial Services Committee Reach Agreement to Move Key Flood Insurance Legislation Forward
WASHINGTON (July 20, 2017) – The National Association of Realtors® today said that significant improvements to the “21st Century Flood Reform Act,” key legislation aimed at strengthening and reauthorizing (link is external) the National Flood Insurance Program, have cleared the way for endorsement of the bill. Among the changes, Realtors® support the House Financial Services Committee’s commitment to retaining “grandfathering” – a policy that protects homeowners from significant rate increases when a flood map changes.
The most recent draft will also limit proposed increases to fees and rate hikes that policyholders faced under previous iterations of the legislation. Earlier versions of the legislation included more dramatic cost increases for homeowners and eliminated grandfathering protections beginning in 2021.
NAR President William E. Brown, a second-generation Realtor® from Alamo, California and founder of Investment Properties, thanked the committee for working with Realtors® to strengthen the bill and announced NAR’s support for it:
“House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), as well as Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chairman Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), deserve high praise for working with Realtors® to improve this legislation. The changes to the 21st Century Flood Reform Act will help give certainty to homeowners who have brought their property to code and have done their part to protect it against flood risk. It’s a fair and reasonable approach that recognizes the need for accessible, affordable flood insurance, while taking us one step closer towards reauthorization.
“This legislation protects taxpayers, as well as homeowners, which is no easy task. The September 30 reauthorization deadline still looms in front of us, and Realtors® are eager to see this legislation progress quickly. Leaders on both sides of the aisle are well aware that this issue touches 22,000 communities – in every state, both coastal and inland. We’re grateful for the committee’s support and look forward to their continued efforts on behalf of homeowners.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
View article on www.nar.realtor.com