FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010 AT 9:14 P.M.
Housing was slightly more affordable for first-time buyers in San Diego County in the opening months of 2010, as interest rates remained low and prices stayed relatively flat.
The California Association of Realtors said first-time-homebuyer affordability rose to 58 percent in the first quarter, heading toward the record 60 percent set in the first quarter of 2009. It was the third straight quarter-to-quarter increase and paralleled a similar climb statewide.
The number is based on how many households have the income to afford an entry-level, single-family resale home — defined as 85 percent of the realty group’s median price for all homes in a given area, a 10 percent down payment and an adjustable-rate mortgage at 4.3 percent.
The association has been tracking starter-home affordability since 2000, but does not calculate overall affordability. The National Association of Home Builders issued its Housing Opportunity Index in February, saying 48.1 percent of the homes sold in San Diego County in the fourth quarter of 2009 were affordable to median-income households.
Although median home prices have been edging higher in recent months, analysts said that trend has more to do with market mix: More higher-priced homes are selling and elevating the median. Zillow.com recently said overall home values in San Diego have risen nearly 4 percent over the past year, but individual properties can vary from the norm.
For San Diego, the realty group said the entry-level price in the first quarter was $322,120, the qualifying income $54,330 and the monthly payment $1,810. The 58 percent affordability rate was up from 57 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 56 percent in the third quarter.
Statewide, 66 percent of households earned the $41,540 necessary to buy an entry-level home priced at $246,270 and carrying a monthly payment of $1,380. The highest affordability rate, 84 percent, was in the high-desert areas. The lowest, 52 percent, was in San Luis Obispo. The statewide figure for affordability for starter condominiums was 70 percent on a price of $220,720, income of $37,230 and a monthly payment of $1,240.
The U.S. affordability rate was set at 79 percent, based on a median starter home of $141,190, qualifying income of $23,810 and monthly payment of $790.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com
