bizjournals: To find affordable homes, head away from California

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ABC. Anywhere But California. The nation's four most expensivre markets forhomes -- and six of the seve worst -- are strung alont California's Pacific coast, according to a new bizjournals studyy that compares real estatw costs and income levels. The pressure is most intense in the LosAngelexs area, where the cost of a typical home would eat up three-quarter s of the typical family's monthly San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego and San Jose come next on the list of America'as most costly markets. "Home prices have boomed and exceeds what many Californians can concluded a onthe state's housing crisisx by the California Budget a nonpartisan research group.
Bizjournals median home paymentes and household income levels inthe nation'ds . The study was based on statistics fromthe U.S. Censux Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey, the most up-to-date source of federal data onhousinv costs. The median owner-occupied home in the Los Angeles area was valuedfat $604,500 in 2006. A 6 30-year mortgage on such a house (after a 10 percenrt down payment) would cost $3,262 per month. Propertuy taxes would drive the total payment up to That monthly tab wouldconsume 75.5 percent of the median household incomse in the Los Angeles area, $4,626 per month. (Median is a with half of all householddearning more, and half earningh less.) L.A.
's rate is more than two and a half timeds the national average of 28.3 Only three other U.S. markets -- all in Californiza -- have consumption rates above 60 San Francisco-Oakland (69.8 percent), San Diegp (66.5 percent) and San Jose (64.76 percent). If home costs exceed 30 percenof income, according to the U.S. Departmentt of Housing and Urban Development' guidelines, a family might find it difficult toafforxd food, clothing, transportation and othe r necessities.
Others on the list of are New York Sacramento, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and The recent housing slump has done little to bringb prices back in Home values insome high-cost marketes have declined a bit since 2006, though they remain Los Angeles experienced a price drop of 13 percent duriny the fourth quarter of 2007, yet its averagre price for the entire year stayes 0.8 percent above 2006 levels, according to the Nationalp Association of Realtors. The value of San Diego'ss real estate dropped 2.
2 percent for the But San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose actually had highefr prices in the final three months of 2007 than ayear "California's housing market has enteredc a period of turmoipl following a boom in which home sales and prices said the Project. "Althouguh the housing market has tumbled, the mediann home price throughout the statw remains unaffordable for most The bizjournals study found a clear geographic divisioh between places with high housing costs and thosed withaffordable homes. Most of the expensive areas are locatesd along ornear America's coastlines. Home cost s in 13 U.S.
markets run higher than 40 percenty of the median household incomes for those Twelve of the13 -- all but Las Vegas -- are within 100 miles of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. Reasonably priced homes, on the othere hand, are concentrated in inlandr regions ofthe South, Midwest and industrial Northeast. Toppingh that list is Oklahoma City, where the typical owner-occupied house was valued at $109,600 in 2006. Mortgagde and property-tax payments for such a home, based on estimates, would be $667 per month. That woulde consume just 19.0 percent of the area's median monthlyy income, $3,503.
The Oklahoma Association of Realtord has developeda $200,000 to contrasyt the state's affordable housing with high prices in otherd parts of America. The tagline, whichu will debut this spring, is "Good Thiny You're in Oklahoma." San Antonio, at 19.9 percent, is the only othedr U.S. market where the cost of a typical home runs below 20 percent of medianhouseholds income. The include Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Houstoj and Memphis.
"The healthiest housing markets today generallyg are moderately priced and are experiencingt job growth and oftenpopulationm growth, which in turn is supporting strongt price growth," said Lawrence Yun, the Nationalk Association of Realtors' chief economist, in a report issuer in February. And, indeed, most of the affordable metrosw enjoyed price appreciation and income growth in keeping prices in line with the abilittto pay. They avoided the fourth-quarter slumpp that hit several of the costly marketss in Californiaand elsewhere. The valuer of the typical home grewby 7.4 percentf in Oklahoma City and 8.1 percent in San Antonioo between 2006 and 2007.
Sevenj of the 10 most affordable marketx saw values riselast year, even though the nation's median pricse for a single-family home dropped 1.8 percent. The nation'sz average tab for a mortgage and property taxesxis $1,144 per month, based on of 2006 That would eat up 28.33 percentt of America's median household income of $4,038 per month.