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Housing affordability for Black California households is half that of whites, illustrating persistent wide homeownership gap and wealth disparities, C.A.R. reports


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than half of Black households earned the minimum income needed to purchase a home as compared to whites, illustrating the homeownership gap and wealth disparity for people of color, women, people with disabilities, indigenous people and members of the LGBTQ community, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) https://www.car.org/ said today.

The percentage of Black home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in 2020 was 19 percent, compared to 38 percent for white households. Housing affordability was similarly low for Latinx households, with 20 percent earning the minimum income needed to purchase a median-priced home. Housing was most affordable for Asians, with 43 percent of homebuyers who could afford the median-priced home in 2020, according to C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Index.

According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the 2019 homeownership rate in California was 63.2 percent for whites, 60.2 percent for Asians, 44.1 percent for Latinx and 36.8 percent for Blacks.

"The wide affordability gap in California between whites and people of color demonstrates the legacy of systemic racism in housing, which has created inequities in homeownership rates across these communities," said C.A.R. President Dave Walsh. "Closing the homeownership gap is essential to closing the generational wealth gap in our country, and that's why C.A.R. is committed to addressing barriers and disparities to make equity in housing and access to affordable homes a reality for all people."

Among legislative actions C.A.R. is taking to address housing discrimination is introducing several Fair Housing and Equity bills including:

C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) measures the percentage of 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 annual income of $122,800 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $659,380 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in 2020. The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, would be $3,070, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 3.30 percent. The 2020 California median income for whites was $94,390, $107,100 for Asians, $65,510 for Latinx and $56,820 for Blacks.

The affordability gap is especially stark in expensive counties like San Francisco, where a median-priced home of $1,650,000 was only affordable for 8 percent of Black households, 15 percent of Latinx households and 22 percent of Asian households compared to 35 percent of white households.

Compared with California, 42 percent of the nation's Black households could afford to purchase a $299,900 median-priced home in 2020, which required a minimum annual income of $55,600 to make monthly payments of $1,390, while 62 percent of white households could afford the same home.

Multimedia:

Key points from the 2020 Housing Affordability by Ethnicity report include:

Leading the way...® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

2020 Traditional Housing Affordability Index by Ethnicity


STATE/REGION/COUNTY

White, Non- Hispanic

Asian

Latinx

Black

Median Home Price

Monthly Payment Including Taxes & Insurance

Minimum Qualifying Income

Calif. Single-family home

38

43

20

19

$659,380

$3,070

$122,800

Calif. Condo/Townhome

51

56

33

30

$501,000

$2,330

$93,200

United States

62

70

51

42

$299,900

$1,390

$55,600









San Francisco Bay Area








Alameda

31

35

14

9

$1,010,000

$4,700

$188,000

Contra Costa

42

48

25

24

$752,000

$3,500

$140,000

San Francisco

35

22

15

8

$1,650,000

$7,680

$307,200

San Mateo

33

31

13

15

$1,700,000

$7,910

$316,400

Santa Clara

32

37

11

11

$1,385,000

$6,450

$258,000

Southern California








Los Angeles

38

35

19

17

$662,310

$3,080

$123,200

Orange

29

26

12

13

$900,000

$4,190

$167,600

Riverside

50

56

40

43

$460,000

$2,140

$85,600

San Bernardino

57

62

54

46

$348,000

$1,620

$64,800

San Diego

35

38

18

15

$710,000

$3,300

$132,000

Ventura

36

45

19

28

$725,000

$3,370

$134,800

Central Valley








Fresno

61

55

46

38

$314,000

$1,460

$58,400

Kern

59

68

42

40

$280,000

$1,300

$52,000

Sacramento

52

54

40

30

$421,000

$1,960

$78,400

NA = not available

 

SOURCE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)


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