LOS ANGELES , Aug. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Higher prices combined with elevated mortgage rates that pushed borrowing costs to all-time highs pulled California's housing affordability down to the lowest levels in nearly 17 years during the second quarter of 2024, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® (C.A.
R.) said today. Infographic: https://www.
car.org/Global/Infographics/HAI-2024-Q2 Fourteen percent of the state's homebuyers could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in second-quarter 2024, down from 17 percent in the first quarter of 2024 and down from 16 percent in the second quarter of 2023, according to C.A.
R.'s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). The second-quarter 2024 figure is less than a third of the affordability index peak of 56 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
Despite elevated mortgage rates in the second quarter, recent signs of weakness in macroeconomic reports have pushed rates down in the past few weeks. As the likelihood of the Fed cutting rates at the September meeting increases, housing affordability in California is expected to improve in the next quarter. C.
A.R.'s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California .
C.A.R.
also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state. The index is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state. A minimum a.