California beats New York in being unaffordable! WOOT!
Recordnet.com: S.J. sales prices holding steady
Statewide, just 12.6 percent of all the homes sold could be afforded by a median-income family, up from 11.7 percent in the second quarter, the group said.Of 65 metropolitan areas ranked for affordability across the nation, San Joaquin County ranked 22nd, with 11.3 percent of median income families – at a median annual income of $60,300 – able to afford a median-priced house of $348,000.
California accounted for nine of the 10 least affordable metro areas in the country: Napa, Los Angeles, Salinas, Anaheim, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Merced and Santa Barbara.
Only outsider New York City made it into that group at the No. 7 spot.
This is a classic case of good news/bad news.
The good news is that California holds 9 of the 10 least affordable metro areas in the country. That’s 90%. New York City, which has nothing compared to California is at mere #7 HAH. Take that. We rule unaffordableness! Golden State stomps on the Big Apple and turns it into applesauce!
The bad news is that California became more affordable – going from 11.7% to 12.6%. I was really hoping that Santa would deliver a single digit affordability rate this year. Like 9.8%.
Here’s to hoping that 2008 will bring us there. I think there’s a good chance after the Superbowl – everyone knows that prices go up after the Superbowl.
What do you think?
November 28th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Yeah! Look at New York – most of it hardly inhabited, NYC is only one a teeny corner of the state, really. But the Bay Area, they’re just not making any more Bay Area!
November 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Watch out for those affordability measures. The NAR likes to tweak them to serve their own interests.
I remember when affordability was listed at 14% one year and then I read a press release from the NAR indicating affordability in Cali was 24%! Couldn’t quite figure that out until I realized the changed the statistics criteria. While the initial affordability measure was using a 20% downpayment and a 30 year fixed as a frame of reference, the “new” one suddenly began using a 10% downpayment and an ARM.
Good ol’ NAR. Always on the cusp of accurate measurements.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Yeah, these are non-NAR measurements.
November 28th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
I’m confused…does SJ refer to San Jose or San Joaquin, because San Jose wasn’t referred to in the article. Is it lumped in with the “San Francisco” area?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I got the following email from a realtor:
The SF Bay area has a unique position geographically and economically.
Geographically, situated between the Pacific Ocean, the SF Bay, mountains and hills, the Bay area offers a very comfortable climate all year long. Easy access to beautiful beaches, hiking trails, skiing areas, surfing waters, etc.
Economically, the Bay area houses companies who are pioneers in their fields and are well known around the world, such as: HP, Google, eBay, Intel, Cisco, Oracle, Genentech, Yahoo, and many others.
Because of these factors, people around the country and even around the world would like to move here when they have an opportunity. There is no new land to build new homes in the Bay area, existing homes are in high demand compared to other region of the state. Even in this slow real market around the state and the country, some markets in the Bay area are still in multiple-offer markets.
I’d like the opportunity to earn your business and represent your in your Real Estate investment.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:08 am
Renter:
hmmm…the realtor forgot that every place on planet earth has a unique geographic position, maybe not “special” …. any way,
he/she also forgot to mention that “they aren’t making any more land” and also you should contact them before you get permanently priced out.
Ah, and what about Web 2.0, not in there either.