California gets an 'F' in housing affordability
New houses line the street in the Inland Empire, the area east of Los Angeles, in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, May 23, 2003 in Ontario, California. (Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - California is failing in its efforts to build and provide affordable housing for its residents.
That's according to a report from Realtor.com, which ranked the state 47 out of 51 states (including Washington D.C.) for housing affordability in the country.
High home prices, low affordability and limited new construction continue to be significant challenges facing California and many other states.
The site determined its rankings based on a state's housing affordability and its ability to meet future supply challenges through new construction.
Affordability was measured using Realtor.com data that examines affordability conditions at different income percentiles and by the share of median income spent on a median-priced home, and homebuilding was measured using permit-to-population ratios and the cost difference between new and existing homes.
What they're saying:
"The only real solution to housing affordability is to build more homes," said Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales. "Some states are making progress, but too many others are stuck in a cycle of soaring housing costs and limited inventory. With this report… we're shining a spotlight on these gaps. We need bold solutions, and we urge federal, state, and local leaders to step up and take action now. It's time to break the cycle and start building now to make homeownership a reality for more Americans."
States with stricter zoning and land use regulations – such as California, New York and Massachusetts – received all of the D's and F's on the website's list. In fact, grades below D were only given to states in the West and Northeast.
Conversely, Southern and Midwestern states such as Iowa and Texas ranked much higher on the list of housing affordability, which the website said is attributal to ample available land and relatively low listing prices.
No states received an A+ score, which "says a lot about how far we still have to go to make homeownership truly attainable," according to Realtor.com.
The Source: Realtor.com data