Only 12% of Buyers Can Afford Median-Priced Home in Pricey San Diego County

Potential home buyers in California would need to make a minimum annual income of $220,800 to be able to afford a median-priced home, according to an industry group.

At the median price recorded to end the third quarter, $880,250, just 16% of Californians would be able to purchase a single-family home, based on new figures released by the California Association of Realtors.

That’s up from 14% in the second quarter and from 15% in the fall of 2023.

The $880,250 price would require monthly payments of $5,520, including principal, interest and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.63% interest.

It’s even worse in San Diego County where the median home price is $1.01 million, which breaks down to a monthly payment of $6,340. A household would need a minimum annual income of $253,600 to afford the payments, according to CAR – and only about 12% of county residents can do so.

Those seeking out a condo or townhome in California fare slightly better – 25% of home buyers were able to purchase the $670,000 median-priced unit.

Those households would need to make a minimum annual income of $168,000 to afford a monthly payment of $4,200.

Compared with California, more than one-third of the nation’s households could afford to purchase a $418,700 median-priced home, which requires a minimum annual income of $105,200 to make monthly payments of $2,630.

The affordability figure reached a peak of 56% in the third quarter of 2012.

Monterey, at 10%, and a two-way tie between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties, at 11%, were among the least affordable counties in the state.

“Housing affordability in California remained near its all-time low across the state and continued to be a challenge for both buyers and sellers,” CAR officials concluded.