Housing affordability deteriorated in 2021 for all California ethnic home-buying groups, according to the California Association of Realtors.
Pointing to the double-digit home price growth that occurred during the pandemic, 26 percent of all Californians earned the minimum income needed to purchase a home in 2021, down from 28 percent in 2020. At the same time, housing affordability for white/non-Hispanic households fell from 38 percent in 2020 to 34 percent in 2021, while 17 percent of Black and Latino households could afford the median-priced home in 2021, down from 19 percent and 20 percent in 2020, respectively.
Housing was more affordable for Asians, with 40 percent of Asian homebuyers who could afford the median-priced home in 2021, down from 43 percent in 2020, according to CAR.
“Homeownership has an unparalleled ability to provide stability and economic security for working families and is vital to the health of our state and its citizens because it strengthens communities across California,” said CAR President Otto Catrina. “Promoting access to homeownership is one way to close the racial wealth gap and foster economic equity for all Californians, and that’s why CAR is committed to addressing ongoing fair housing and equity issues that persist in our state that have made it harder for Blacks, Latinos and other underserved communities to access and afford housing.”
According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the 2020 homeownership rate for all Californians was 56 percent, 64 percent for whites, 61 percent for Asians, 46 percent for Hispanics/Latinos and 37 percent for Blacks.
A minimum annual income of $144,400 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $786,750 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in 2021. The 2021 California median income for White residents was $102,540, $116,060 for Asians, $71,120 for Hispanics/Latinos and $61,740 for Black residents—a more than $20,000 income gap between the overall population.
With an affordability index of 10 percent, Orange County and San Francisco County were the least affordable for Black households, while San Bernardino County was the most affordable at 41 percent. The least affordable county for Hispanic/Latino homebuyers was also Orange County, and the most affordable was San Bernardino at 49 percent.
To read more of CAR’s report, click here.