A panel of economists assembled by the California Association of Realtors agree that housing affordability remains a lingering concern in California, namely in Los Angeles. The metro is the least affordable area in the nation when examining affordability relative to median income, and how those figures compare to 2000 and 2003 levels, according to Laurie Goodman, director of Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center.

  • In most Los Angeles ZIP codes, the median price of a home exceeds half a million.
  • According to one source, buying is still cheaper in Los Angeles then renting.
  • A number of people are moving out of Los Angeles to cities in California's Central Valley.

panel of economists assembled by the California Association of Realtors agree that housing affordability remains a lingering concern in California, namely in Los Angeles. The panel was led by industry experts like CAR chief economist Leslie Appleton-Young, Nela Richardson, Jonathan Smoke, Christopher Thornberg and Laurie Goodman.

Karin Hildebrand Lau / Shutterstock.com

Karin Hildebrand Lau / Shutterstock.com

The metro is the most unaffordable area in the nation when examining affordability relative to median income, and how those figures compare to 2000 and 2003 levels, according to Laurie Goodman, director of Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center.

[Tweet “Urban Institute: Los Angeles is the most unaffordable area in the nation when examining affordability relative to median income.”]

Nela Richardson, Redfin’s chief economist, asserted that a number of people are moving from the metro to the Inland Empire, Fresno, Stockton, Sacramento and Bakersfield because of affordability issues. She also questioned the quality of jobs those that move outside of Los Angeles obtain in their new city.

A recent ZIP-code-by-ZIP-code existing-home sales chart from CoreLogic details housing’s role in Los Angeles County’s affordability situation.

According to the chart, the median sales price of a Los Angeles County home during September was $510,000.

Of the county’s ZIP codes, 49 have a median home price that exceeds $1 million. Additionally, nearly 145 ZIP codes have median home prices that exceed $510,000.

Email Erik Pisor

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