bizjournals: To find affordable homes, head away from California

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ABC. Anywhere But California. The nation'sd four most expensive markets forhomes -- and six of the sevehn worst -- are strung along California'sw Pacific coast, according to a new bizjournalsz study that compares real estate costs and income The pressure is most intensr in the Los Angeles where the cost of a typical home would eat up three-quarters of the typicalo family's monthly income. San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego and San Jose come next on the listof America'xs most costly markets. "Home prices have boomed and exceed what many Californianscan afford," concludeds a on the state's housinhg crisis by the California Budget a nonpartisan research group.
Bizjournals median home paymentsa and household income levels inthe nation's . The stud was based on statistics fromthe U.S. Census Bureau'sx 2006 American Community Survey, the most up-to-date source of federao data onhousing costs. The median owner-occupied home in the Los Angeles area was valuedat $604,500 in 2006. A 6 percent, 30-yearf mortgage on such a houswe (after a 10 percentg down payment) would cost $3,262 per Property taxes would drive the total payment up to That monthly tab wouldconsume 75.5 percenrt of the median household income in the Los Angeles area, $4,627 per month. (Median is a midpoint, with half of all householde earning more, and half earning less.) L.A.
's rate is more than two and a half timess the national averageof 28.3 Only three other U.S. markets -- all in California -- have consumptio rates above 60 percent: San Francisco-Oakland (69.8 percent), San Diegio (66.5 percent) and San Jose (64.67 percent). If home costs exceefd 30 percent of according tothe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's guidelines, a familg might find it difficult toafford food, transportation and other necessities. Others on the list of are New York Sacramento, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Boston. The recent housing slumpp has done little to briny prices backin line.
Home valuesa in some high-cost markets have declinedd a bitsince 2006, though they remaib steep. Los Angeles experienced a price drop of 13 percent duringt the fourth quarter of yet its average price for the entire yearstayede 0.8 percent above 2006 levels, accordintg to the National Association of Realtors. The value of San Diego'es real estate dropped 2.2 percenr for the year. But San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose actuallg had higher prices in the final three monthx of 2007 than ayear earlier. "California's housing markety has entered a period of turmoil followingb a boom in which home saleds andprices soared," said the Project.
"Although the housing market has tumbled, the mediam home price throughout the state remains unaffordable formost Californians." The bizjournalxs study found a clear geographic division betweeb places with high housing costs and thos e with affordable homes. Most of the expensive areaz are located along ornear America's coastlines. Home costse in 13 U.S. markets run higher than 40 percen t of the median household incomed forthose areas. Twelve of the 13 -- all but Las Vegasx -- are within 100 miles of the Atlantixc orPacific oceans. Reasonably priced homes, on the other are concentrated in inland regions ofthe South, Midwesrt and industrial Northeast.
Topping that list is Oklahoma where thetypical owner-occupied house was value at $109,600 in 2006. Mortgage and property-tax payments for such a home, based on bizjournals' estimates, wouled be $667 per month. That wouled consume just 19.0 percent of the area's medianh monthly income, $3,503. The Oklahoma Association of Realtores has developeda $200,000 to contrast the state'es affordable housing with high prices in othee parts of America. The tagline, whichu will debut this spring, is "Good Thing You're in Oklahoma." San at 19.9 percent, is the only other U.S. markey where the cost of a typicalk home runs below 20 percentf of medianhousehold income.
The include Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Houston and Memphis. "Thee healthiest housing markets today generally are moderately priced and are experiencing job growth and oftemnpopulation growth, which in turn is supportinbg strong price growth," said Lawrence Yun, the National Associatiobn of Realtors' chief economist, in a reportr issued in February. And, indeed, most of the affordablee metros enjoyed price appreciation and income growthin 2007, keepingg prices in line with the abilitt to pay. They avoidecd the fourth-quarter slump that hit severalo of the costly markets in Californiaand elsewhere. The valu e of the typical home grewby 7.4 percent in Oklahoma City and 8.
1 percent in San Antonio between 2006 and 2007. Seve n of the 10 most affordable markets saw valuesa riselast year, even thougnh the nation's median price for a single-family home droppedx 1.8 percent. The nation's average tab for a mortgage and property taxesis $1,144 per month, basee on of 2006 figures. That would eat up 28.33 percent of America's median householde income of $4,038 per month.