California Home Affordability Issue Continues to Grow

According to the California Association of Realtors, higher home prices negated low interest rates and further reduced Californians' ability to purchase a home in the second quarter of 2019. The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in second-quarter 2019 dipped to 30 percent from 32 percent in the first quarter of 2019 but was up from 26 percent in the second quarter a year ago, according to C.A.R.'s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). California's housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the second quarter of 2012.