Homeownership costs exceed half of income for 15% of California owners

"Here is yet another way to look at the financial challenges of California homeownership: Recurring costs eat up more than half of household income for roughly 1 in 6 owners statewide. My trusty spreadsheet identified this affordability challenge by analyzing 2024 Census Bureau housing data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These latest figures detail swings in who owns their residence, how much they pay a month, and how many owner households are financially swamped by expenses."

"That's when mortgage payments one-third of Californians don't have a home loan plus items such as insurance, utilities and association dues top 50% of an owner's income. By this math, 15% of California owners were deeply stressed in 2024 the highest share among the states and well above the nation's 9% slice. After California comes Florida, New York and Hawaii at 13%, and Rhode Island at 12%. Texas was No. 18 at 10%."

Recurring ownership costs consume more than half of household income for about 15% of California owners in 2024, the highest state share and above the national rate of 9%. Mortgage payments (though one-third of Californians lack a mortgage) plus insurance, utilities and association dues drive the high burdens. California has 7.7 million owner households and about 1.1 million of them pay over half their income toward ownership. Florida, New York and Hawaii follow at 13%, while North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa report the lowest deeply burdened shares. The typical Californian homeowner pays an estimated $2,280 monthly, 70% above the $1,340 national norm.

Read at www.ocregister.com