Housing Affordability Holds Steady in CA

Housing affordability in California was unchanged in October from 15% in September, although it was four percentage points lower than the 19% level recorded a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.The Housing Affordability Index indicates the percentage of households that can afford to buy a median-priced home in California, which cost $538,770 in October. The minimum household income needed to buy a median-priced home was $128,480, up from $106,490 a year earlier, CAR reported. (The figures are based on an average effective mortgage rate of 6.03%, assuming a 20% downpayment.) CAR can be found on the Web at http://www.car.org.