Fewer Families Can Afford a Home in Riverside County

Fewer Riverside County households could afford to purchase a median-priced home in the last quarter, dovetailing with an overall drop statewide in housing affordability, a real estate tracking firm reported today.

About 40 percent of county residents could qualify to buy a single- family dwelling between April 1 and June 30, compared to 42 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the California Association of Realtors.

In the most recent quarter, the countywide median home price increased to $334,580, compared to $322,620 in the first three months of the year, according to CAR figures.

In deriving its affordability index, CAR used a 30-year fixed mortgage with a 3.95 percent annual interest rate as a benchmark. After factoring in taxes, insurance and a 20 percent down-payment, a local household would need a qualifying annual income of $66,200 to afford a property, making average monthly payments of $1,650, according to the association’s estimates.

The countywide affordability index stood at 41 during the year-ago quarter, but widened to 42 in the latter part of 2014.

When San Bernardino County numbers are added into the mix, 46 percent of the Inland Empire region’s households are able to afford a home, CAR data showed.

Statewide, 30 percent of prospective homebuyers could qualify to purchase a property at the second-quarter median price of $485,100. That compared to 34 percent in the first quarter of the year, when the median price stood at $441,610.

CAR noted that condominiums and townhouses remained within reach of a larger swath of prospective homebuyers, with 39 percent statewide able to afford the $388,250 median-priced condo or townhome.

--City News Service