Only 1 in 4 can afford an average home

May 2017, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo Article

Only a quarter of San Luis Obispo County residents can afford a median-priced home on the Central Coast, according to a report issued by the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. In the county in the first quarter of 2017, 26 percent of residents could afford a median-priced $550,000 home, according to the report. Statewide, the number was 32 percent for a median-priced $496,620 home, the report said. In order to make monthly payments of $2,830 — which includes taxes and insurance — prospective SLO County homebuyers needed to make at least $113,020 a year, the report said. But here’s some good news: Our county isn’t the least affordable place to buy a home in California by a long shot. The least affordable county in California is San Francisco, where just 13 percent of residents can afford a home, followed by Santa Barbara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Marin counties.

BY Gabby Ferreira: 805-781-7858, gferreira@thetribunenews.com