We have a coastline in Texas you know.
Posted on 01/08/2005 8:18:52 PM PST by Citizen James
California is now home to the 11 least-affordable housing markets in the entire nation, according to a new report, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.
"It used to be that California dominated the 'bottom 10' list of least-affordable metropolitan areas. Now we are the bottom 10 -- and then some," said Robert Rivinius, chief executive officer of the California Building Industry Association. "What's worse is that even in California's most affordable market -- Tulare County -- less than half of the county's residents can afford a median-priced home."
The index found that during the third quarter of 2004, 19 of the bottom 25 housing markets nationally were in California. And of the 43 least affordable markets in the nation, more than half -- 25 -- were in California.
The least-affordable market out of 162 metropolitan areas nationwide was Santa Barbara County, where a family earning the median income could afford only 4.9 percent of area homes. The next four least-affordable areas were San Diego County, Monterey County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County.
In comparison, the NAHB survey found that in the nation's most affordable market, Lima, Ohio, 90.5 percent of homes sold during the third quarter of 2004 were affordable to families earning the area's median income.
The median price for a home in Santa Barbara County in November 2004 was $668,750, according to the California Association of Realtors. At the same time, the median priced home in Lima, Ohio, was $66,722.
Among larger metro areas nationwide, the most affordable were Grand Rapids, Mich., where 86 percent of the homes were considered affordable, and St. Louis, Mo., where the affordability rate was 83.7 percent, the report said.
The Housing Opportunity Index calculates the share of homes sold in an area that would have been affordable to a family earning the median income. For income, NAHB uses the annual median family income estimates for metropolitan areas published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. NAHB assumes that a family can afford to spend 28 percent of its gross income on housing, a conventional assumption in the lending industry. That share of median income is then divided by 12 to arrive at a monthly figure. On the cost side, the monthly principal and interest is based on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 10 percent down payment. The interest rate is a weighted average of fixed and adjustable rates during that quarter. The cost also includes estimated property taxes and property insurance.
Young couples generally don't buy homes when they first get out of college. We weren't able to buy our first home until I was 30 years old.
Try Riverside or Victorville. Or they can always move to Phoenix or Seattle. Of course home prices up in those places too.
Heres a tip for them. If they want a home, stay out of credit card debt, and sh*t can the two late model cars. Most young people complain of not being able to afford a home, yet they are paying $700 a month for car payments for two late model cars. Credit cards and new cars don't cut it. On the other hand, a home is everything.
The way most (lucky) folks buy in this So.Ca. area is by buying up. I bought a 1700sq ft townhome in Irvine in 1988 for 188K. (Thought that was a lot). Then got married and bought a home in another area of Orange County for 390K, but was able to keep the Irvine place. Sold the second one for 760K 5 years after purchase and bought a great historical home 3 blocks from the ocean for 995K. The home next door to us is listed for 1.6 million and there is a bidding war. I feel for the people buying now.
I worked with a guy several years ago, that was offered a job in southern California. His salary in Atlanta was $65k. His salary offer was $110k...and he got all excited. They even were going to throw in a bonus of $5, and offered him a free trip out to interview. So he flys out and does a great interview and in the midst of this 2-day trip...he checks out local housing prices...nothing was less than $400k. His 3-bedroom place in Atlanta cost around $200k...but he couldn't buy anything that nice for less than $600k. He eventually said no, and declined the job. You'd have to be a fool to go out there and think that you can have a similiar lifestyle in California. This is why Vegas is growing at such a pace, and companies are looking at moving from southern California to AZ. Why pay employees twice what they need...Tucson is one of the cheapest places in the US to live.
What many don't understand is the coastal strip is only about 35 miles wide by 125 miles long, from San Diego to the Santa Monica mountains roughly. It's all but built up, and only a few home are being built due to no more realestate on the coastal strip available. They aint making no more realestate here. LOL!
That's why the building boom in the inland empire, San Berdo and Riverside areas. Of course, that isn't as desireable as OC and LA. Commutes are much longer, weather isn't as good etc etc.
Well no doubt. Half the year the temperatures there resemble oven settings. If you like living like a lizard, you'll love Phoenix and Tucson.
We are making less land because the government is removing private ownership from land and setting it aside for wildlands, open space and green belts. The government is also creating urban service limits and urban boundaries that force more and more people into denser and denser cities with clearly defined edges as part of their smart growth plans.
How many parcels of land are off limit to humans these days that used to be homes, farms and ranches? I can think of quite a few in Santa Cruz County, CA. And I know they are not done here yet because they are working on my town now. You should check it out, the numbers are astonishing.
The political philosphy driving our government to reject our founding principles of protecting private property and the constutitional restrictions on what land government should own is called sustainable development. Check it out.
We got into the California market 13 years ago. We bought a house for $350K. We sold it a few months ago for $850K. We now have over half a million in equity which made it easy to buy our next house which is over a million.
The real negative isn't the mortgage, it's the property tax. That's what is really killing us.
Is any place in the US safe from liberal infestation?
I'm thinking Montana.
Yes this is true. I have seen you use that phrase before. Much more accurate and will be used from now on.
I saw on the news, the average cost of a home in moron(Marin) county was $850,000. As if simply living there wouldn't be bad enough.
First the government asked for cost shifted housing for the very low income people of the state. Then it was for the low income people. Now in the Sacramento regional plan, they are asking for cost shifting to be applied to "workforce housing". When all is said and done, the government, with the full knowledge of Gov. Schwarzennegger and Sunne Wright McPeak, his appointed planner for jobs, housing and transportation, will have succeeded in putting everyone in subsidized housing with only a small group of very wealthy individuals owning property anymore.
If "smart growth" works, why are people at increasingly higher income levels unable to purchase homes without a subsidy? Because our government is killing the free market.
We have a coastline in Texas you know.
We just sold our house in San Jose. The thing that was amazing was that our mortgage for our million dollar home was less than the mortgage the people buying our old home.
They put only 5% down on a $850K home. Their mortgage is over $800K. The couple buying it are both doctors so they should be able to afford the payments, but ouch.
You'll love the weather there this time of year. Lovely. To get an idea, look in the freezer area of your fridge.
You are right. I am a wuss in the cold.
And when the real estate bubble crashes you will be the first ones wanting government assistance to prop up the prices.
BTW, how is the show going?
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