AFFORDABILITY

San Diego remains the nation’s least affordable metro

Home prices rose 16.6% in San Diego year over year

By Patrick Kearns | Mar 3, 2022

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Data released Thursday by real estate technology company OJO Labs revealed that San Diego was the nation’s least affordable metro area for the second consecutive month. The report affirms last month’s report, which saw San Diego shockingly pass San Francisco for the lead in unaffordability — when comparing median home sold price to local income wasn’t just a one-month blip. 

The median home sold price in San Diego climbed 16.6% in February to $777,000, bringing the city’s unaffordability score — a ratio of home sold price to median household income — up to 8.2 from 8.1 last month. 

San Francisco — which still has the highest-priced housing of any metro in the U.S. — continued to see its median home price drop in February for the second consecutive month. Home prices were down 0.4% year over year in the Bay Area, which kept the city’s unaffordability score static at 7.9.

With a 9.7% increase in home prices year over year, Los Angeles also reported an unaffordability score of 7.9, meaning it was just as hard to afford a home in Los Angeles as it was in San Francisco last month. The median home price in Los Angeles reached $686,000 in February. 

Miami, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida; rounded out the top five least affordable metro areas in the U.S. 

Austin, Texas, once again saw the biggest home price increase of any metro area in the U.S., with home prices rising 35.8% year over year, according to the data from OJO Labs real estate search site Movoto by OJO. That steep rise in home prices put the Central Texas city just behind New York City on the overall unaffordability list, ahead of other pricey cities like Seattle, Washington, and Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Denver, Colorado, was the biggest mover, climbing four spots to eighth on the list, due to a 21.3% rise in the median home sold price year over year. 

Green Bay-Appleton, Wisconsin, continued to be the most affordable of the top 50 metro areas in the nation regarding homes sold, but the gap between it and others is narrowing. In February, the median home sold price in Green Bay-Appleton was $179,900 — an increase of 28.5% from the year prior — leading to an unaffordability score of 2.5. 

According to the data, Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, were right on their heels with unaffordability scores of 2.7 and median home sold prices under $175,000.

Nationally, the median annual home price increase dropped significantly from last month from $376,730 in January to $364,116 in February. Home prices rose 14.9% year over year in February, bringing the national unaffordability score to 4.4, down slightly from 4.5 last month. 

An unaffordability score is a ratio that’s derived from monthly median housing prices and median household income. The higher the score, the more unaffordable a metro area is for a median-income household. Median home price data draws from local multiple listing service sold data, and median household income derives from 2016-19 census data.

Patrick Kearns is the Director of Storytelling at OJO Labs. Prior to joining OJO Labs, Patrick worked as a journalist for more than a decade, most recently covering housing and real estate at Inman News. He’s also written for The Guardian, The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, Vice, and others.

OJO is a real estate platform that provides support and guidance to match each moment of the home journey, so everyone feels ready, equipped, and inspired to take the next step. Learn more.

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