HOUSING OUTPACES INCOME BUYERS FALL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS SHORT OF AFFORDING HOME.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer More troubling news for house hunters House Hunters is an American television series that airs at 10:00pm nightly (and in reruns at various other times) on the cable television network Home & Garden Television, aka HGTV. surfaced Thursday as households earning the median income fell $55,370 short in the third quarter of qualifying for a loan to buy the median-priced home, said a new index compiled by a Realtors' group. In their initial Home Buyer Income Gap index, the California Association of Realtors said that the gap widened 47.9 percent from the level it would have been at in the 2003 third quarter. In the July through September period it would take an income of $108,310 to buy a house priced at the median $462,510. But the median income in the state was $52,940. It would take a monthly payment of $2,710 to service the debt on a 30- year, fixed-rate mortgage. That's with an interest rate of 5.82 percent and a 20 percent down payment. However, the association says sales remain on a record pace this year despite low affordability. First-time buyers first-time buyer n → persona que compra su primera vivienda first-time buyer n → personne achetant une maison ou un appartement pour la première fois first-time buyer are bearing the brunt brunt n. 1. The main impact or force, as of an attack. 2. The main burden: bore the brunt of the household chores. of house-price sticker shock Sticker shock is a United States term for the feeling of surprise experienced by consumers upon finding unexpectedly high prices on the price tags (stickers) of products they are considering purchasing. . ``I still think it's really discouraging dis·cour·age tr.v. dis·cour·aged, dis·cour·ag·ing, dis·cour·ag·es 1. To deprive of confidence, hope, or spirit. 2. To hamper by discouraging; deter. 3. news. It means that more and more first-time buyers will look inland, in the Central Valley or out of state,'' said Leslie Appleton-Young, the association's vice president and 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 has crunched these numbers before, but this is the first time it has released them in an indexed format. It will be a quarterly assessment of the difference between 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. and the qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced, single-family home for the state and selected regions. The new index showed that: --Statewide at the end of the third quarter of 2003, the gap was $37,440. The median household income was $51,630, the median house price was $385,720 and the qualifying income $89,070. --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, for the 2004 third quarter, the gap was $55,830 and the median income was $51,510. The median home price was $458,380 and the qualifying income minimum was $107,340. The monthly payment would be $2,680. --House hunters in the Central Valley, where the median income was $40,640, encountered the lowest income gap, $27,030. The median-priced home here cost $288,960 and the qualifying income was $67,670 with a monthly payment of $1,690. --The San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay had the highest gap in the state at $82,910. Potential buyers need a median income of $68,430 but needed to earn at least $151,340 to purchase a median-priced home at $646,280. Their monthly payment would be $3,780. The index shows that the housing market is being dominated by repeat buyers. And despite inventory increasing over the past several months and prices moderating, Appleton-Young said she is hearing buzz that the market heated up again in November. ``It will be an interesting year,'' she said of 2005. Nima Nattagh, an analyst at AVM AVM 1 Acute viral meningitis, see there 2 Arteriovenous malformation, see there Fusion, a company that builds statistical tools for lenders, said one reason sales are still high despite low affordability is that buyers have a wide range of financing options. But high housing prices and incomes that are not keeping pace could develop into a chronic problem for the state. ``Clearly employees don't look at affordability in California as anything positive. As far as the state is concerned, this is a big negative,'' he said. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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