PRICED OUT OF A HOUSE? STATE'S AFFORDABILITY INDEX HITS 8-YEAR LOW.Byline: Jason Takenouchi Staff Writer Rising home prices and interest rates last year pulled the state's Housing Affordability Index to its lowest level since 1992, the California Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The index - which measures the percentage of households that can afford a median-priced home - fell to 37 percent in 1999, a three-point drop from 1998, the association said. In contrast, the national index was 55 percent last year. The index is the percentage of households that can afford to buy a median priced home. Housing affordability has implications beyond simply home ownership, said Leslie Appleton-Young, the association's 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 . ``You can't continue to grow an economy when housing is not available for an average household,'' she said. ``At some point, companies find that they're unable to attract the caliber of worker that they need in order to grow.'' The state's affordability index for single-family homes had averaged more than 39 percent from 1993to '98. In 1992, the index stood at 32 percent. But a combination of surging housing prices and last year's interest rate hikes pushed the affordability index down across the state, pricing many buyers out of the market, 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. the CAR. A full-blown affordability crisis has already hit several areas of the state, including 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 . According to the CAR report, the Bay Area had a 27 percent rating in 1999; in the city of San Francisco
Appleton-Young said 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. is still a few years away from a similar housing crisis. Los Angeles County's affordability index was 39 percent last year, equal to its 1998 mark. In Ventura County the index was 41 percent, down from 44 percent in 1998. But Jack Kyser, chief economist with the nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., said 39 percent is far from ideal. ``If you're trying to attract firms into 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, , this is going to be a big hurdle HURDLE, Eng. law. A species of sledge, used to draw traitors to execution. ,'' Kyser said. ``These numbers are dramatic evidence that this is something we need to look at.'' Remedies for the current problem could require some tough choices, according to Appleton-Young. ``You have to start to change people's thinking about what housing is all about and what communities are all about,'' she said. CAPTION(S): chart Chart: HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX SOURCE: California Association of Realtors |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion