January 31, 2008

Still Too High for Teachers and Firefighters

If you are a teacher or firefighter or a nurse, chances are you can’t afford to buy a house.  Both CNNMoney.com and Marketwatch unfortunately reported that an analysis recently done by the Center for Housing Policy concluded that most of the middle class don’t bring home enough moola to be a homeowner.  This includes those who educate our children, protect our homes and care for our friends and families when they are ill.

The report, appropriately called “Paycheck to Paycheck,”  assumes that the old rule of 28% of your income should go to making housing payments and 10% of the home price is available as a down payment. Using these rule of the thumb guidelines, a person or household in San Francisco needed just over $250,000 to afford the median priced home of $770,000.  And it doesn’t get much better in other areas, even though prices are not as astronomical as the bay. ”Registered nurses, for example, can’t afford the median-priced home in 108 markets, a slight improvement from the 114 markets they were priced out of in 2006. “  Ouch.  And it really hurts when our health workers can’t afford to live nearby to take care of us.  On a side note - this provides a glimpse into how the recent mortgage and foreclosure problems came into being - a lot of folks who probably couldn’t really afford these homes somehow got financing to buy them.

Overall, the news isn’t pretty for the bay.  According to the report, five of the top 10 most expensive home areas are here.  Something has to give to make this place more affordable.  Either prices need to drop or we pay these folks much more.  Or we all get comfortable with the fact they live 2 hours away… What will it be?

Chart: Center for Housing Policy