Californian Home Buyers Coming Up $60,000 Short
by Broderick Perkins
California's relentless march toward the $500,000 median priced home is leaving many households behind the eight ball to the tune of more than $60,000. That's how short on income households are, when it comes to qualifying to buy a home in the Golden State, based on first quarter numbers. The California Association of Realtors' (CAR) "Homebuyer Income Gap Index" reveals the first quarter median price of single family detached homes was $488,600, and Californian households with a median household income of $53,540 are $60,380 short of the $113,920 qualifying income needed to purchase such a home. CAR recently posted an even higher monthly median price for single family detached homes -- $495,400 in March, likely to be even higher now -- which makes matters even worse. "These numbers are particularly troubling for would-be first-time home buyers, who often are locked out of home ownership because of the lack of affordable homes for sale," said Jim Hamilton, CAR president. "While home sales statewide continue to surge, the California real estate market is being dominated by repeat home buyers, who account for three out of four home purchases in the state," he said. Those home buyers typically have higher incomes and are cashing in on astronomical equity gains. "For those repeat buyers, the Housing Income Gap can fall as low as $23,320. Even though repeat buyers fare better than first-timers, that's little consolation to Californians spending a significant portion of their income servicing their monthly mortgage," said Hamilton. Up north, in California's tech mecca, known as Silicon Valley, for example, the median price of single family detached homes soared closer to the three quarter million dollar mark in April, after finishing March at $733,000. The index doesn't point to Silicon Valley specifically, but the entire nine-county San Francisco Bay Area, which includes Silicon Valley, has a $92,930 income shortfall. Home buyers need a $160,700 income to purchase the median priced home there -- $689,240, as of the first quarter according to CAR. The association's index is a quarterly analysis of the difference between the median household income and the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced, single-family home for the state and for select regions within the state. The index assumes the buyer has a 20 percent down payment and a monthly payment for principal, interest, taxes and insurance that is no more than 30 percent of a household's income. However, more and more buyers are stretching with low- and no-money down mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), interest-only loans and other home-buying leverage vehicles to get into homes in California where sales are up six percent over last year. In Southern California, which includes Los Angeles and San Diego, the income gap is $59,320. It's $32,000 in the Central Valley where the median prices is only $316,100. Recent reports, however, say the Central Valley is the state's newest boom market as sticker shock on the coast forces more buyers inland in search of cheaper homes. CAR's index has increased nearly 45 percent in the past year. A year ago, the income gap stood at $41,660 when the median priced home was $407,710, the median household income was $52,320 and qualifying income was $93,980. Even California air space is expensive. Buyers suffered a $36,990 income shortfall for condos which had a $388,290 median price during the first quarter of this year, according to CAR. Along with Florida, New England, the Northwest and some Western regions, California was recently named in a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation study revealing it has a high concentration of expensive housing markets, making it prone to widespread price stagnation or depreciation should economic conditions take a turn for the worse. | 
