• 0
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do

Shopping Cart

GPAM
  • Home
  • About Us
  • What We Do

To buy a home in SoCal, a family needs income of $208K a year

Home buyers across Southern California must earn more than $200,000 a year to qualify for a typical house mortgage.

Families needed to rake in at least $200,800 to buy a typical single-family home that cost $785,000 within the six-county region in the first quarter, the San Bernardino Sun reported, citing affordability figures from the California Association of Realtors.

The qualifying earnings standard for a mortgage has shot up 38 percent, or $54,800, since the same period in 2022, when the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates to combat inflation.

Across the U.S., home hunters must make $99,600 a year to qualify for a typical $389,400 house, meaning that in California, the requirement is more than double the national average. In two years, the national threshold has risen 36 percent, or $26,400.

Household incomes in Southern California are 16 percent higher than the nation – $86,000 versus $74,000. Yet SoCal buyers must earn 100 percent more to buy a home.

Just 15 percent of residents across the Southland earn enough to buy a home this year, compared to 24 percent in early 2022, according to the Sun. 

Nationwide, affordability ran at 37 percent at the start of this year, down from 47 percent two years ago.

In the first three months of the year, the cost of financing a home jumped to 6.8 percent for the average 30-year mortgage, from 3.8 percent in 2022’s first quarter. That drove the typical SoCal monthly house payment to $5,020, a 38 percent increase.

The affordability gap has made for fewer home sales. In the first quarter, 37,211 houses, townhomes and condos were sold in six Southland counties, 37 percent fewer than in early 2022.

The amount of income required to buy a home varied across Southern California, according to the Sun.

In Orange County, families needed to earn $349,200 to qualify in the first quarter for a typical $1.37 million home. Some 11 percent of residents qualify, versus 13 percent two years ago.

In Los Angeles County, families needed to earn $210,400 for a typical $823,000 house. Some 14 percent qualify, versus 20 percent two years ago.

In Riverside County, families needed to earn $161,200 for a typical $630,000 house. Some 20 percent qualify, versus 28 percent two years ago.

And in San Bernardino County, families needed to earn $124,800 to qualify for a $488,000 house. Some 27 percent qualify, versus 39 percent in 2022.

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

San Francisco


Number of affordable homes plunges across California
Number of affordable homes plunges across California

San Francisco


Black-white home affordability gap widens in California
Black-white home affordability gap widens in California

Los Angeles


Starter home prices have doubled and tripled in SoCal and Bay Area
Starter home prices have doubled and tripled in SoCal and Bay Area

The post To buy a home in SoCal, a family needs income of $208K a year appeared first on The Real Deal.

Powered by WPeMatico

  • 22 May 2024
  • The Real Deal
  • Uncategorized
  •  Like
Rapper Kendrick Lamar buys Brentwood manse for $40M →← Democratizing Real Estate Investment: USP’s Blockchain Tokenization
  • Recent Posts

    • Hoteliers sound the alarm on looming distress  May 24, 2025
    • Growth markets see retail boom even with tariff uncertainty May 24, 2025
    • Westchester resi project gets city OK after union drops objection May 23, 2025
    • WATCH: ‘Father of CMBS’ Ethan Penner to run for governor of California May 23, 2025
    • Fashion Island office fetches $756 psf May 23, 2025
  • Recent Comments

    • Archives

      • May 2025
      • April 2025
      • March 2025
      • February 2025
      • January 2025
      • December 2024
      • November 2024
      • October 2024
      • September 2024
      • August 2024
      • July 2024
      • June 2024
      • May 2024
      • April 2024
      • March 2024
      • February 2024
      • January 2024
      • December 2023
      • February 2023
      • January 2023
      • December 2022
      • November 2022
      • October 2022
      • September 2022
      • August 2022
      • July 2022
      • June 2022
      • May 2022
      • April 2022
      • March 2022
      • February 2022
      • January 2022
      • December 2021
      • November 2021
      • October 2021
      • September 2021
      • August 2021
      • July 2021
      • June 2021
      • May 2021
      • April 2021
      • March 2021
      • February 2021
      • January 2021
      • December 2020
      • November 2020
      • October 2020
      • September 2020
      • August 2020
      • July 2020
      • June 2020
      • May 2020
      • April 2020
      • March 2020
      • February 2020
      • January 2020
      • December 2019
      • November 2019
      • October 2019
      • September 2019
      • August 2019
      • July 2019
      • June 2019
      • May 2019
      • April 2019
      • March 2019
      • February 2019
      • January 2019
      • December 2018
      • November 2018
      • October 2018
      • September 2018
      • August 2018
      • July 2018
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018
      • March 2018
      • February 2018
      • January 2018
      • December 2017
    • Global Property and Asset Mangement, Inc.
      137 North Larchmont
      Los Angeles, California 90010
      +1 213-427-1127

    © 2025 GPAM