By Theresa Souers

Not only is the median home price in South Lake Tahoe below the state’s median, South Lake Tahoe continues to rank as one of the most affordable resort destinations throughout the country.

According to the California Association of Realtors (CAR), “The percentage of homebuyers who could afford to purchase a median priced, existing single-family home in California in fourth-quarter 2016 remained at 31 percent, unchanged from the third quarter of 2016, but up from 30 percent in fourth-quarter 2015, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI).”

                                                                                                                                                                Source: STAR

Key points from the fourth-quarter 2016 Housing Affordability report include:

·       Compared to affordability in third-quarter 2016, eight of 29 counties tracked saw an improvement in housing affordability (Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Los Angeles, Ventura, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Madera), 10 experienced a decline (San Francisco, Sonoma, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Kern, Kings, Merced, and SanJoaquin), and 11 were unchanged (Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Placer, Sacramento, Stanislaus, and Tulare).

·       Only three of nine Bay Area counties (Contra Costa, Marin, Napa) recorded higher affordability numbers than the previous quarter, as higher earning Bay Area workers drove up home prices. Housing affordability results were mixed in Southern California, but largely declined in Central Valley counties.

Theresa Souers is with the South Tahoe Association of Realtors.