Want To Buy An Orange County Home? You'll Need To Make 6 Figures

MALIBU, CA – If you'd like to own property in Orange County, you'll need to make at least six figures to afford it. The minimum household income needed to buy a typical house in Orange County is $167,670 a year, the California Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. The typical house payment in Orange County in the first quarter was $ 4,190 a month – compared to the average Los Angeles County payment of $ 2,820, according to the report.

If you're looking for something more affordable, you'll need to make $112,930 a year in Los Angeles County to afford a median-priced house using traditional financing methods, according to the report. Here are some cheaper nearby options: the median income to afford a house in the Inland Empire is $72,450 a year. In Riverside County you need to earn $82,180 and $57,650 in San Bernardino County.

These income numbers are based on the CAR Housing Affordability Index for the first quarter of 2018. The index assumes buyers pay a 20 percent down payment and get a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4.4 percent. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, housing affordability actually improved in 28 tracked California counties and declined in 14. Six counties remained unchanged.

In Southern California, affordability improved in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, while affordability in Orange and San Diego counties remained flat during first-quarter 2018, according to the report. Strong wage growth in the San Francisco Bay Area increased affordability from the previous quarter in six of nine Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Affordability decreased in Solano and Sonoma, and remained steady in Marin.

In California during the first quarter of 2018, the most affordable counties were Lassen (68 percent), Kern (56 percent), Kings (52 percent) and San Bernardino (52 percent). The least affordable counties were Mono (8 percent), San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz (all at 15 percent), according to the report.

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