The typical Southern California home buyer now faces a record-breaking $3,311 payment — up 45 percent in the last year.
Home buying lurched to the sixth-slowest June since 1988, declining 25 percent since last June, the Torrance Daily Breeze reported.
The newspaper analyzed home prices and rising mortgage rates in six Southland counties to determine a hypothetical typical monthly home-loan payment, assuming a 20 percent down. The result: a tsunami-like mortgage that may be off-putting to many would-be buyers.
Dreaming of living in a place you can call your own has become so pricey that house hunters are beginning to abandon their searches. In June, 25 percent fewer home purchases were made in Southern California compared to a year earlier.
Last month, the average 30-year mortgage interest rate was 5.24 percent, up from 4.79 percent in May and 3 percent from a year earlier.
In one month, the region’s estimated house payment rose $123 — or 3.9 percent. Over the entire 12 months, payments rose $1,021, or 45 percent more each month.
At the same time, the median home price in Southern California rose 10 percent in 12 months. So a 20 percent down payment of $150,000 in 2021 became a $164,200 downpayment in 2022, according to the Breeze, adding to the buyers’ burden.
Across Southern California, the painful math means hefty mortgage payments.
In Los Angeles County, it translates to a $3,796 payment on the $860,000 median priced home, with 42 percent more added to last year’s payment. June sales were down 23 percent since last year in L.A. County.
In Orange County, it means a $4,525 payment on the $1 million median home price, with 49 percent more added to last year’s payment. June sales were down 34 percent in a year in Orange County.
– Dana Bartholomew
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