Report: California Housing Affordability Racially Divided

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The percentage of Black and Latino buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced single-family home in California in 2020 was about 20 percent, compared to 38 percent for white households and 43 percent for buyers of Asian descent, according to a report released Wednesday by the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors.

"The wide affordability gap in California between whites and people of color demonstrates the legacy of systemic racism in housing, which has created inequities in homeownership rates across these communities," said C.A.R. President Dave Walsh.

According to C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Index, a minimum annual income of $122,800 was needed to qualify for the purchase of a $659,380 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in 2020. 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 3.30 percent.

The 2020 California median income for whites was $94,390; $107,100 for Asians; $65,510 for Latinos; and $56,820 for Blacks, according to C.A.R.

According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the 2019 homeownership rate in California was 63.2 percent for whites, 60.2 percent for Asians, 44.1 percent for Latinos, and 36.8 percent for Blacks.