Encouraging news! More people can afford to own.

About a third of households in the fourth quarter of 2007 would have been able to contribute a 10-percent down payment and be approved for an adjustable-rate loan at 6.21 percent on a starter property. In the same three months of 2006, just 25 percent of people met those guidelines for purchasing a home priced at 85 percent of the local median home price.

The downturn in California's housing market is cited as the main factor for the increase in affordability. The most affordable area of the state was in the desert north of Los Angeles, though Sacramento County was very close. By comparison, just 20 percent of households were able to afford to live in Monterey, where the price of an entry-level home is approaching $600,000.Source: North County Times (CA) (02/19/08)