The California Association of Realtors recently reported on California housing in Q2. Here are some of their findings: 

• Thirty percent of California households could afford to purchase the $608,660 median-priced home in the second quarter of 2019, down from 32 percent in first-quarter 2019 but up from 26 percent a year ago.
• A minimum annual income of $122,960 was needed to make monthly payments of $3,070, including principal, interest and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 4.17 percent interest rate.
• Forty percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $475,000 median-priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $95,960 was required to make a monthly payment of $2,400.

Other key points from the second-quarter 2019 Housing Affordability report include:

• When compared to a year ago, housing affordability improved in 42 tracked counties and declined in five counties. Affordability remained flat in one county.
• In the San Francisco Bay Area, affordability improved from second-quarter 2018 in every county. San Francisco County was the least affordable, with just 17 percent of households able to purchase the $1,700,000 median-priced home. Forty-six percent of Solano County households could afford the $445,000 median-priced home, making it the most affordable Bay Area county.
• Affordability also improved in all Southern California regions, with Orange County being the least affordable (24 percent) and San Bernardino County being the most affordable (50 percent).
• In the Central Valley region, only Kern County experienced a decline in affordability from a year ago, decreasing from 53 percent in second-quarter 2018 to 50 percent in second-quarter 2019. San Benito County (35 percent) was the least affordable and Kings County (55 percent) was the most affordable.
• Housing affordability improved in three counties in the Central Coast region — Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz — and was unchanged in one, Santa Barbara.
• During the second quarter of 2019, the most affordable counties in California were Lassen (63 percent), Kings (55 percent) and Madera (51 percent). The minimum annual income needed to qualify for a home in these counties was less than $60,000.
• Mono (15 percent), San Francisco (17 percent), Santa Cruz (17 percent) and San Mateo (18 percent) counties were the least affordable areas in the state. San Francisco and San Mateo counties required the highest minimum qualifying incomes in the state. An annual income of $343,420 was needed to purchase a home in San Francisco County, and an annual income of $338,870 was required in San Mateo County.

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