Housing Affordability in California Edged Up in Late 2017

According to the California Association of Realtors, after hitting a 10-year low in third-quarter 2017, slightly lower home prices and steady mortgage rates allowed more Californians to purchase a home in the fourth quarter of 2017. The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in fourth-quarter 2017 edged up to 29 percent from 28 percent in the third quarter of 2017 but was down from 31 percent in the fourth quarter a year ago, according to C.A.R.'s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). This is the 19th consecutive quarter that the index has been below 40 percent. California's housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the first quarter of 2012.