California Association of Realtors Third-Quarter Report Puts Affordability at 19 Percent for the $894,630 Median Home, Unchanged From the Prior Quarter, With a $228,000 Income Needed
Los Angeles, California — The California Association of Realtors, in its third-quarter 2026 housing affordability report released on October 30, said 19 percent of California households could afford the $894,630 median-priced existing single-family home, unchanged from both the second quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025. This report covers quarterly data for the third quarter of 2026, not a same-day market move.
Under the association's Traditional Housing Affordability Index, the minimum annual income needed to buy that median-priced home was $228,000, unchanged from the previous quarter and $4,400 higher than a year earlier, with estimated monthly payments of $5,700, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
On prices, the statewide median for an existing single-family home was $894,630 in the third quarter, down 2.3 percent from $915,590 in the second quarter but 0.7 percent above its year-ago level. The median condo and townhome price was $640,000, down 4.5 percent from the previous quarter and 1.5 percent from a year ago, and 31 percent of households could afford that category, up from 30 percent in both the previous quarter and a year ago.
On rates, the effective 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.80 percent in the third quarter, up from 6.54 percent in the second quarter and 6.67 percent a year earlier, its highest level since the second quarter of 2025 and a second consecutive quarterly increase.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons 词条主图：California Teachers Association
