Housing affordability brightened somewhat in the 1st Quarter of 2023 since interest rates have dipped, see several areas below for comparisons. The first three columns are the percentage of homebuyers who could buy the median priced home*:
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| Regional/State Chart for home prices in California |
*Above chart from CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Traditional Housing Affordability Index First quarter 2023
These figures exist for all counties, but four major areas are selected above, plus statewide figures for single family home and condos.
As has been widely stated, inventory is down, therefore total sales volume is down, 2023 units are projected to reach 279,000 units, down from the 342,000 units sold in 2022. Will home prices decrease as predicted (in blue print)? The public will have to stay tuned on both prices and interest rates:
"C.A.R. also announced it has revised its 2023 Housing Market Forecast and projects existing single-family home sales to reach 279,900 units in 2023, a decline of 18.2 percent from the 342,000 units sold in 2022. While home prices in general are expected to improve in the second half of the year, the California median home price is projected to decrease 5.6 percent to $776,600 in 2023, down from the annual median price of $822,300 recorded in 2022. The updated projection on the statewide median price, however, is an increase from the estimate of $758,600 forecast last October. C.A.R. also projects the 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate to average 6.3 percent for the year.
Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996
