California Housing Affordability Weak

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) released their June housing affordability numbers (the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home), and the situation continues to get more and more distressing. The state's index in June was 30%, down from 31% in May and 36% last year. Nationwide, the June affordability index was 52%. In Southern California, the Riverside-San Bernardino area was the most affordable with an index of 47% in June, down from 53% last year. Los Angeles County came in at 39%, compared with 44% in 1999. Orange and Ventura counties both had indexes of 25% in June. A year ago, Orange County's index was 33% while Ventura County came in at 44%. San Diego County's June index was 23%, compared with 32% last year. The San Francisco Bay area and Santa County indexes were both at 16% in June, truly a scary situation.

Thanks to Chris Steins