Los Angeles remains at the very top of the list of least affordable housing markets in the United States. A monthly study from RealtyHop analyzes 100 major cities across the U.S. to determine the least affordable housing markets each month. Unfortunately, since the beginning of 2024, Los Angeles has consistently continued to be the most unaffordable housing market in the country.
L.A. is filled with so many beautiful and historic homes. But even with first-time homebuyer loan initiatives from the California Housing Finance Agency, it can still be difficult to get on the property ladder for most Californians.
According to RealtyHop, “California remains unaffordable for average Americans. Three of the five least affordable cities are in the state.” Furthermore, the median listing price for homes actually increased in May. This means that the average list price for homes in Los Angeles is now $1,100,000.
The survey calculates the average income of Los Angeles families as $78,671. So most families with average incomes in L.A. would now be forced to spend around 99.33% of their income on homeownership costs. Of course, this simply is not feasible for most families in Los Angeles.
Additionally, this number is much higher than other unaffordable housing markets nationwide where homeowners only have to spend around 49% of their income on homeownership costs. Plus, when compared to other major cities surveyed, it becomes even more disheartening. In the majority of major cities in the U.S., only 30% of residents’ annual income would be spent on the costs tied to homeownership.
In order to reach these findings, the RealtyHop Housing Affordability Index analyzes following statistics:
1) Average household income
2) Average home listing prices
3) Local property taxes
4) Mortgage expenses
You can read more about RealtyHop’s monthly housing market findings on their website here.