San Francisco County has moved ahead of Santa Clara County as the second-most expensive place in California to buy a home. San Mateo County remains No. 1.
San Francisco buyers need to earn $535,600 a year to afford a median-priced home, compared with $510,800 in Santa Clara County, according to a new affordability report from the California Association of Realtors. In San Mateo County, buyers need to earn $579,600 annually, according to the report. The three counties are now the only ones in California where the median home price tops $2 million, and the minimum qualifying income exceeds $500,000.
Despite the high home prices, affordability has held steady or improved in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties from a year ago. In Santa Clara County, 22% of households could afford a median-priced home in the second quarter, up from 18% a year earlier. San Mateo County remained at 18%, while affordability in San Francisco fell from 20% to 18%.
San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
Santa Clara County’s median home price reached $2.05 million in the second quarter of this year, while San Mateo County’s was $2.3 million, and San Francisco County’s was $2.15 million…