Regional Dashboard
Housing
HOME AFFORDABILITY
WHAT IS THE MEASURE?
Percent of families that can afford to purchase an entry level home in the San Diego region.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- Access to adequate and affordable housing is a basic need for all people and plays a determining role in quality of life.
- Since World War II, home ownership has been an important means of wealth accumulation in the United States, especially for lower income and minority families.
- When people have a stake in where they live, they are more likely to care about and participate in community improvement, which increases the vitality of our neighborhoods and cities.
- Affordability drives individual and business decisions. If housing is not affordable, San Diego has difficulty competing for new businesses against other metropolitan areas where homes are less expensive.
- Lack of affordable housing can lead to overcrowding, or long commute times as people have to find housing in less expensive areas further away from their jobs. In this way, home affordability is also linked to land use, gasoline consumption, and vehicle miles traveled.
HOW ARE WE DOING?
Affordability has steadily declined in our region for the last decade, increasingly pricing out middle class and low wage workers. While rising home prices benefit some people, others lose out, especially when there are significant income inequities in a region. Factors contributing to a steep decline in affordability include a housing stock that did not keep pace with population growth, low interest rates and the increased interest in investment in housing.
Due to the collapse of the housing market in 2007, affordability is on the rise—about 50% of families could afford to purchase an entry level home in 2008, yet San Diego County still lags significantly behind the California and national averages. This is an important issue for the future of our region and we must develop thoughtful policy options that increase the number of people who can afford to buy homes.
LINKS TO ACTION
The San Diego Housing Federation is a coalition of affordable housing developers, advocates and other organizations, that promotes the creation of quality affordable housing focused on lower income families and people in need.