While a red-hot housing market is great for investors, many of California's poorest are denied their right to social mobility because of outrageous housing costs. In Los Angeles, once the land of ample housing, only five ZIP codes have median home prices below $200,000 - and all of those are in one ghetto, Watts. Consider this: in 1970, a Californian earning a quarter of median income could afford a median-priced house. Now, to afford the same home, a family would have to earn 160% median income. Local charities, the Federal government, and the LA Housing Department simply lack the funds to keep up with the housing boom.
Thanks to Jeffrey Goodman
