Homeownership dreams in Golden State cities like Salinas and the Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine area are slipping further away for many, as newly released data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows significant spikes in single-family home prices, notable in a nationwide trend. Salinas leads with a 17.1% rise to a median of $993,900, while Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine isn’t far behind at 14.8%, reaching $1,299,500. Contrastingly, Dayton, Ohio, boasts the largest increase at 19.9% but with a far more accessible median price of $240,700. This surge aligns with a broader pattern where over 85% of American cities have seen home prices increase, with 34 metros witnessing double-digit growth.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun painted a stark picture for recent home buyers, stating, “Homeowners have benefited from housing wealth accumulation. However, many homebuyers have been shocked at high housing costs, with a typical monthly mortgage payment rising from $1,000 three years ago to more than $2,000 last year,” Yun said. This burden, according to Yun, is not reflected in the official consumer price index inflation calculations, compounding the ‘sense of dissatisfaction about the economy.’