IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Housing affordability improved statewide during the first quarter of 2026, posting gains quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year.
Twenty two percent of California’s households could afford the median price of a single-family home – $843,390 – during the first three months of this year, up one percent from the fourth quarter of 2025 and up three percent year-over-year, according to the California Association of Realtors.
An annual income of $204,800 was needed to make monthly payments of $5,120, based on a 30-year fixed mortgage of 6.2 percent.
Thirty percent of the state’s households could afford a condominium or townhome, up five percent compared with the first quarter of 2025.
The median price of a condominium during the first quarter was $648,000. To make that purchase, an annual income of at least $157,2000 was needed to make monthly payments of $3,930, the association reported.
Thirty two percent of Inland Empire households could afford a median-priced home – $570,000 – during the first quarter, essentially the same as the fourth quarter, but up from 27.5 percent one year earlier.
A yearly income of $138,600 was needed to make monthly mortgage payments of $3,465, according to the association.
