Homebuying affordability leaps
Index: 59% of renters should be able to buy; 46% last year
By Roger Showley
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Three years of declining home prices have meant good news for first-time homebuyers, many of whom had been frozen out of the market when prices hit the stratosphere.
Affordability levels look the best in years for renters wanting to become owners, the California Association of Realtors reported yesterday.
The trade group said affordability in the second quarter rose to 59 percent in San Diego County, up from 46 percent the same period last year. In 2007, affordability stood at 23 percent.