California's Housing Affordability Index at 19 percent in December; Down Four 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 19 percent in December December: see month. , a 4 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 December 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) ) was unchanged from November November: see month. , when it also 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 $474,480 in California in December was $110,530, based on an average effective mortgage interest rate of 5.76 percent and assuming a 20 percent downpayment. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home was up from $94,070 in December 2003, when the median price of a home was $401,720 and the prevailing interest rate was 5.82 percent. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $188,900 in the U.S. in December 2004 was $44,000. At 41 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable C.A.R. region in the state, followed by the Central Valley and Sacramento Sacramento, city, United States Sacramento (săkrəmĕn`tō), city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif. regions 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 9 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. , Northern Wine Country, and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. regions at 11 percent. C.A.R.'s January January: see month. 2005 sales and median price report for the state and regions within the state will be released on Feb. 25. 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 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)
C.A.R. REGION Dec-04 Nov-04 Dec-03
California 19 19 23
California - Condos 25 27 34 r
United States 55 55 56
Central Valley 24 25 33
High Desert 41 40 57
Los Angeles 17 17 23
Monterey Region 11 11 16
Northern California 20 20 27
Northern Wine Country 11 12 15
Orange County 13 13 18
Palm Sprgs/Lwr Desert 13 14 18 r
Riverside/SBernardino 19 19 33
Sacramento 24 24 37
San Diego 11 12 15
San Francisco Bay Area 13 14 19
San Luis Obispo 14 14 16
Santa Barbara County 9 7 19
Santa Clara 21 22 26
Ventura 16 17 23
COUNTY
Alameda 14 15 20
Contra Costa 10 10 12
Fresno 27 28 36
Marin 14 14 17
Merced 19 20 29
Riverside 17 18 28
San Bernardino 26 27 39
San Francisco 11 11 12
San Joaquin 17 18 29
San Mateo 15 15 18
Santa Cruz 14 15 18
Sonoma 11 12 15
Stanislaus 26 27 33
(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
Dec-04 Nov-04 Dec-03
--------------------------- ---------- -------------- ------------
Statewide
Calif. (sf) $474,480 $471,980 r $401,720 r
Calif. (condo) $391,050 $378,170 r $310,050 r
Region
Central Valley $302,920 $300,970 r $240,440 r
High Desert $244,410 $248,320 $171,900
Los Angeles $463,450 $474,720 r $377,500 r
Monterey Region $631,000 $634,500 $513,020
Monterey County $589,000 $598,000 $470,000
Santa Cruz County $650,000 $630,000 $549,250
Northern California $376,570 $376,620 $302,080
Northern Wine Country $558,960 $536,980 $448,680
Orange County $627,000 $633,340 $533,030
Palm Springs/Lower Desert $341,320 $326,220 $275,360 r
Riverside/San Bernardino $327,210 $321,950 $243,320
Sacramento $347,790 $345,940 r $267,320 r
San Diego $577,040 $564,830 $466,030
San Francisco Bay $658,910 $660,780 r $582,320
San Luis Obispo $475,610 $475,560 $413,640
Santa Barbara County $597,220 $668,750 $397,100
Santa Barbara South Coast $960,000 $1,200,000 r $885,000
North Santa Barbara County $451,060 $429,760 $336,230
Santa Clara $660,000 $649,000 $570,000
Ventura $612,460 $595,910 $488,700 r
na -- not available
r -- revised
Source: California Association of REALTORS(R)
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