California's Housing Affordability Index at 18 Percent in January; Down Five Points from Year Ago.LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. -- The percentage of households in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). able to afford a median-priced home stood at 18 percent in January January: see month. , a 5 percentage-point decrease compared with the same period a year ago when the Index was at 23 percent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report released today by the California Association of REALTORS(R) (C.A.R.). The January Housing Affordability Index (HAI HAI Health Action International HAI Healthcare-Associated Infections HAI Helicopter Association International HAI Hospital Acquired Infection HAI Hemagglutination Inhibition (Immune assay type, microbiology) ) declined 1 percentage point from December December: see month. , when it stood at 19 percent. C.A.R.'s monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. C.A.R. also reports housing affordability indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $485,700 in California in January was $113,340, based on an average effective mortgage interest rate of 5.78 percent and assuming a 20 percent down payment. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home was up from $93,720 in January 2004, when the median price of a home was $404,460 and the prevailing interest rate was 5.70 percent. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $189,000 in the U.S. in January 2005 was $44,100. At 39 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable C.A.R. region in the state, followed by the Sacramento Sacramento, city, United States Sacramento (săkrəmĕn`tō), city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif. region at 24 percent. The Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. region was the least affordable in the state at 7 percent, followed by the Monterey Monterey (mŏntərā`), city (1990 pop. 31,954), Monterey co., W Calif., a port on Monterey Bay; founded 1770, inc. 1850. It is a popular resort, the home of many artists and writers, and one of California's oldest cities. and Palm Springs/Lower Desert regions at 10 percent. C.A.R.'s February February: see month. 2005 sales and median price report for the state and regions within the state will be released on March 23. Leading the Way...(TM) in California real estate for 100 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time California Association of REALTORS(R) (www.car.org See .org. (networking) org - The top-level domain for organisations or individuals that don't fit any other top-level domain (national, com, edu, or gov). Though many have .org domains, it was never intended to be limited to non-profit organisations. RFC 1591. ) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , with more than 160,000 members dedicated to the advancement A gift of money or property made by a person while alive to his or her child or other legally recognized heir, the value of which the person intends to be deducted from the child's or heir's eventual share in the estate after the giver's death. of professionalism professionalism the upholding by individuals of the principles, laws, ethics and conventions of their profession. in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.
C.A.R. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX (a)
Jan-05 Dec-04 Jan-04
California 18 19 23
California - Condos 27 25 36 r
United States 55 55 58
C.A.R. REGION
Central Valley 23 24 36 r
High Desert 39 41 56
Los Angeles 17 17 23 r
Monterey Region 10 11 14
Northern California 20 20 29
Northern Wine Country 11 11 16
Orange County 12 13 20
Palm Sprgs/Lwr Desert 10 13 17 r
Riverside/SBernardino 18 19 34
Sacramento 24 24 39 r
San Diego 11 11 16
San Francisco Bay Area 13 13 21
San Luis Obispo 13 14 17
Santa Barbara County 7 9 15 r
Santa Clara 21 21 29
Ventura 14 16 24
COUNTY
Alameda 14 14 21
Contra Costa 10 10 14
Fresno 26 27 42
Marin 13 14 19
Merced 19 19 31
Riverside 15 17 27
San Bernardino 23 26 41
San Francisco 11 11 12
San Joaquin 17 17 30
San Mateo 15 15 18
Santa Cruz 12 14 18
Sonoma 11 11 16
Stanislaus 24 26 35
(a) -- percentage of California households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home r - revised Source: California Association of REALTORS(R)
Median Prices By Region - Current Month vs. Year Ago
Jan-05 Dec-04 Jan-04
------------------------- -------------- -----------------------------
Statewide
Calif. (sf) $485,700 $474,280 r $404,460 r
Calif. (condo) $376,300 $391,050 $303,060 r
C.A.R. REGION
Central Valley $306,560 $303,320 r $234,950 r
High Desert $252,440 $244,410 $178,200
Los Angeles $475,880 $463,450 r $387,840 r
Monterey Region $683,700 $631,000 $571,100
Monterey County $620,000 $589,000 $499,000
Santa Cruz County $715,000 $650,000 $583,750
Northern California $372,880 $376,570 $297,140
Northern Wine Country $545,730 $558,960 $446,180
Orange County $634,280 $627,000 $523,380
Palm Sprgs/Lwr. Desert $380,600 $341,320 $296,120 r
Riverside/S. Bernardino $338,780 $327,210 $245,090
Sacramento $346,950 $347,830 r $262,210 r
San Diego $580,220 $577,040 $468,450
San Francisco Bay $666,740 $658,910 $573,700
San Luis Obispo $495,000 $475,610 $407,320
S. Barbara County $680,000 $597,220 $467,860
S.Barbara South Coast $1,206,250 $960,000 r $920,000
No. S. Barbara County $443,750 $451,060 $338,890
Santa Clara $664,000 $660,000 $555,000
Ventura $638,130 $612,460 $495,990
na - not available r - revised Source: California Association of REALTORS(R) |
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