By Staff and wire report
San Francisco Bay Area households with a median income of $67,770 fall $92,930 short of the needed qualifying income of $160,700 to purchase a median-priced home of $689,240, the highest income gap in the state, California Association of Realtors reported.
The Realtors' Housing Affordability Index is a measure of the difference between the median household income and the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced, single-family home. It is produced monthly, and this week a quarterly average was released.
Statewide, the median — half above, half below — household income is $53,540 in California, which is $60,380 short of the $113,920 qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home in the state. A median-priced home in California cost $488,600.
Potential home buyers in the Central Valley, with a median household income of $41,040, had the smallest income gap at $32,660, the association also reported. Home buyers in that area needed a qualifying income of $73,700 to purchase a median-priced home at $316,100.
The Homebuyer Income Gap Index for California increased 44.9 percent during the first quarter of 2005 compared to the first quarter of 2004, when the gap stood at $41,660, the median household income was $52,320, and qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $407,710 was $93,980.
Full Article: http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/05/06/business/20050506_bu03_real.txt
Couldn't agree more with this article. I was just talking about a similar brief in Friday's Oakland Tribune Business Section. http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-yCThCssldqe0O107RbfjRd5z?p=8
Posted by: Todd Marshburn | May 09, 2005 at 12:11 AM