For release:
August 7, 2019

 California housing affordability dips in second quarter 2019, C.A.R. reports

• Thirty percent of California households could afford to purchase the $608,660 median-priced home in the second quarter of 2019, down from 32 percent in first-quarter 2019 but up from 26 percent a year ago. 
  
  
• A minimum annual income of $122,960 was needed to make monthly payments of $3,070, including principal, interest and taxes on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 4.17 percent interest rate.
  
  
• Forty percent of home buyers were able to purchase the $475,000 median-priced condo or townhome. An annual income of $95,960 was required to make a monthly payment of $2,400.

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 7) – Higher home prices negated the lowest interest rates in more than a year and reduced Californians' ability to afford a home purchase in the second quarter of 2019, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) said today.

The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California in second-quarter 2019 dipped to 30 percent from 32 percent in the first quarter of 2019 but was up from 26 percent in the second quarter a year ago, according to C.A.R.'s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI). California's housing affordability index hit a peak of 56 percent in the second quarter of 2012.

C.A.R.'s HAI measures the percentage of all 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 $122,960 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $608,660 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the second quarter of 2019. 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 4.17 percent. The effective composite interest rate was 4.62 percent in first-quarter 2019 and 4.70 percent in second-quarter 2018. 

Housing affordability for condominiums and townhomes also slipped in first-quarter 2019 compared to the previous quarter, with 40 percent of California households earning the minimum income to qualify for the purchase of a $475,000 median-priced condominium/townhome, down from 41 percent in the previous quarter. An annual income of $95,960 was required to make monthly payments of $2,400. Thirty-six percent of households could afford to buy a condominium/townhome a year ago.

Compared with California, more than half of the nation's households (55 percent) could afford to purchase a $279,600 median-priced home, which required a minimum annual income of $56,480 to make monthly payments of $1,410.

Key points from the second-quarter 2019 Housing Affordability report include:

• When compared to a year ago, housing affordability improved in 42 tracked counties and declined in five counties. Affordability remained flat in one county.
• In the San Francisco Bay Area, affordability improved from second-quarter 2018 in every county. San Francisco County was the least affordable, with just 17 percent of households able to purchase the $1,700,000 median-priced home. Forty-six percent of Solano County households could afford the $445,000 median-priced home, making it the most affordable Bay Area county.
• Affordability also improved in all Southern California regions, with Orange County being the least affordable (24 percent) and San Bernardino County being the most affordable (50 percent).
• In the Central Valley region, only Kern County experienced a decline in affordability from a year ago, decreasing from 53 percent in second-quarter 2018 to 50 percent in second-quarter 2019. San Benito County (35 percent) was the least affordable and Kings County (55 percent) was the most affordable.
• Housing affordability improved in three counties in the Central Coast region — Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz — and was unchanged in one, Santa Barbara.
• During the second quarter of 2019, the most affordable counties in California were Lassen (63 percent), Kings (55 percent) and Madera (51 percent). The minimum annual income needed to qualify for a home in these counties was less than $60,000.
• Mono (15 percent), San Francisco (17 percent), Santa Cruz (17 percent) and San Mateo (18 percent) counties were the least affordable areas in the state. San Francisco and San Mateo counties required the highest minimum qualifying incomes in the state. An annual income of $343,420 was needed to purchase a home in San Francisco County, and an annual income of $338,870 was required in San Mateo County.

See C.A.R.'s historical housing affordability data.
See first-time buyer housing affordability data.

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.

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CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index
Second quarter 2019

Sharing some tips for sellers when it comes to selling your house! The best thing to do today is to call Sunshine Properties Real Estate, we have professionals ready and available to help you sell your house or land. 760-728-8855

HOW TO CUT AN AVOCADO SAFELY

If you've been removing an avocado seed by striking it with a knife, you may be putting yourself at risk of an injury. While it may seem quick and easy to remove an avocado seed with a knife in your hand, it's not the safest way. I'll help you understand a safer way to handle your avocados while maximizing the nutrition you can get from them!

Cutting any food in your hand is never a good idea. It only takes one slip of the knife or an avocado to cause serious injury. As the popularity of avocados continues to grow, so have the reports of these injuries - now widely known as "avocado hand." 

To avoid such injury, the most effective way to approach cutting your avocado is as follows: 

1. Select your ripe avocado and wash. If you need help ripening avocados, see this link.
2. Wash the avocado thoroughly, dry and then place on the cutting board.
3. Carefully cut the avocado in half length-wise around the seed, with the fruit flat on the cutting board.
4. Rotate the avocado ¼ turn and cut length-wise around the seed, creating ¼ avocado segments. Put down your knife.
5. By separating the quarters, you can remove the seed seamlessly with your fingertips!

Now let's talk about how to maximize the nutrition of an avocado. When scooping the fruit out with a spoon, you might miss the fruit's most nutrient dense part - closest to the skin. Though all of the avocado pulp/flesh is good for you, try peeling your avocados instead. This reveals the beneficial plant pigment or dark green fruit closest to the skin where you get the greatest concentration of "carotenoids". It's nutritious and delicious! 

Other helpful articles:

• How to Choose and Use Avocados
• Why You Should Peel Avocados
• The Definitive Guide to Ripening Avocados

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Dzung Duong

 

Honeysuckle is a food and lifestyle channel hosted by Dzung Duong whose dedication to simplifying gourmet recipes, lifestyle design, and responsible beauty has allowed her to grow into a YouTube sensation. Dzung has been cooking since she was 8 years-old, when her grandmother taught her authentic Vietnamese recipes with a twist. Her exceptional content, produced with a playful edge, has made her channel a destination with a full video production business, which she runs with her business partner husband. Her most viral videos include 25 epic toast ideas, the 45-second breakfast sandwich, and decadent Nutella filled cookies. Her mission is: to "inspire young women across the globe to use food and lifestyle choices to develop creativity, self-confidence and community in everyday life." She and her husband live in Los Angeles with their 1 year old daughter, Erisy, and border collie.

Dzung is a brand advocate. Their content on the California Avocado Commission website and/or blog is part of their partnership with our organization.

6 Tips for Selling Your San Diego County Home Fast This Summer

By Susan Mackey

Source

Summer is a hot time on the real estate market in San Diego County. It's the time when most families are looking to move, and also when the competition to sell homes heats up. As a homeowner, you want to do everything you can to make your house stand out. If you've got time to wait for the perfect offer, great! But if you need to get out of town as soon as possible, check out these six tips for selling your home fast this summer.

1. Keep It Green

A lush lawn will not only raise the curb appeal of your home, it will also draw people to your doorstep. A beautiful landscape shows potential buyers you care about upkeep.

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