Anyone trying to jump from renting to owning in San Diego is running headfirst into some brutal math. A new housing index from the Burnham-Moores Center at the University of San Diego ranks the San Diego metropolitan area as the fifth-most expensive place to own a home among the nation’s 50 largest metros. According to the study, renters in San Diego County who tried to buy a median-priced property today would end up spending about 86.8% of their annual income on mortgage payments, property taxes and other ownership costs.
The index is designed to capture the full cost of ownership, not just the mortgage, and it paints a stark picture for local renters considering buying.
As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, the new study draws on a quarterly Housing Affordability Index produced by the Burnham-Moores Center. The Union-Tribune walks through county-level breakdowns showing how taxes, insurance and HOA dues pile onto the price of buying in Southern California…