HOME-BUYING SALARY GAP WIDER INCOMES NOT KEEPING UP WITH RISING PRICES.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer With prices continuing to rise, 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). households earn far less than the minimum salary needed to buy a median priced home, a trade group reported Tuesday. The median income across the state averaged $53,840 in the second quarter, $70,480 less than the $124,320 salary needed to qualify for a house priced at the median of $530,430, said the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. Statewide the gap widened 28.3 percent from the like period a year ago. In Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , where the median price averaged $510,000 in the second quarter, the median income was $52,310 and the qualifying amount was $119,530. That leaves a gap of $67,220. The association began tracking the disparity dis·par·i·ty n. pl. dis·par·i·ties 1. The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree; difference: "narrow the economic disparities among regions and industries" between paychecks and income qualifying requirements in last year's first quarter and it's widened ever since. Not surprisingly, less expensive areas, like the Central Valley, have a narrower gap while more expensive areas, like Southern California, have a wider gap. For example, in the Central Valley the median household income The median household income is commonly used to provide data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more. was $41,250 and a median priced home, the point at which half cost more and half less, was $344,330. The qualifying income was $80,700, leaving a gap of $39,450. No reversal of this trend is in sight, either. ``This time next year, assuming that home prices go up ... and interest rates go up I would imagine the income gap will be higher than it is at the present time,'' said Robert Kleinhenz, the association's deputy chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the . The association's Housing Income Gap Index is based on the same model used to track affordability. It assumes a 20 percent down payment and the fact that a household won't spend more than 30 percent of its income on housing. But neither have tracked reality. Housing sales are ahead of last year's record pace for the year's first half amid rising prices. Kleinhenz notes that the qualifying ratio is more than 30 percent in lots of instances today, trade-up buyers are able to make substantial down payments and there are a variety of loan products available. ``That should be troublesome,'' he said of how buyers are managing to get into the market. Jim Link, executive vice president at the Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. Regional Association of Realtors in Van Nuys, said that the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. market didn't lose traction Traction Definition Traction is the use of a pulling force to treat muscle and skeleton disorders. Purpose Traction is usually applied to the arms and legs, the neck, the backbone, or the pelvis. in July. ``There aren't any real signs of cooling off. I'd say the rate of appreciation, while still high, is not going up as fast but the buyer demand is still there.'' Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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