According to 2007 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 15 percent of American home owners with a mortgage spend half of their income or more on housing costs.
Below are the top 13 areas where mortgage holders spend 50 percent or more of their income on their homes. The information is an estimate based on an analysis of Census data by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, 58 percent
- Stockton, Calif.,57 percent
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 55 percent
- Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., 55 percent
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif., 54 percent
- Modesto, Calif., 54 percent
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif., 53 percent
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., 53 percent
- Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla., 52 percent
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif., 52 percent
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., 51 percent
- Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 51 percent
- Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif., 50 percent San Diego California home sales
If you had bought a house 8 yrs ago, it’ll be worth a lot more today than what you would have paid for despite the housing mess. IMO, you lost out by not buying in 2000. But if you couldn’t afford year 2000 prices, then that’s a different story…
Real Estate Broker
If you are going to buy a home that you are planning on living in, buy one that you can afford, taxes and insurance and maintenance included. The “asking” price does not tell the whole story, nor does the “adjustable” loan. People paid too much thinking they could flip the house, found no buyer and the adjustable loan was “adjusting”, just like they’d been warned. Of course, no one fore saw the gas prices, the electricity prices, the food prices going through the roof, and all the unemployment.
San Diego Dental
Home prices do not double in price on average every ten years. There is no evidence to support such a statement. S&P case shriller home index which goes back to 1890 found that SFR prices went up at the rate of inflation over time. If they do double in any short period it’s called a asset bubble and values return to medium as the bubble implodes. OFHEO also shows long term prices run with inflation and return to normal price levels rather than continuing to rise. In order for RE to double every 10 years average income would also need to rise with it, which if you haven’t noticed doesn’t happen and when it does as during the 70’s yield on bonds jump into the teen’s and the FED pushes up interest rates causing home prices to decline.
LA Attorney
We’re only seeing the last of the 1 and first of the 3 year ARMs getting their bumps now. Remember that even though housing was slowing refinancing were very strong. Not only that but most people that played that game pulled equity out too which means they essentially lump themselves in with the last of the buyers. Even if you say the top was at the end of ’06, and it wasn’t, we still need to get through all of ’09 just to clear out the last of the 3 year ARMs. And the only way those people don’t get hit hard is if property values not just stabilize but actually rise a bit as lending standards are tighter and they will have to come up with some equity.
San Diego Cosmetic Surgeon
Homes will always be unaffordable to the average person in high priced CA as long as government subsidize home owners in the form of mortgage tax deductions, and Fannie Mae bailouts. Remove the interest tax deduction and watch the prices correct 50%. This place a bottom on home prices and increase home ownership than further government meddling. The issue is affordability, not unemployment. Prices are still too high due to government tax policies and bad lending practices.
Bail Bond Seller