Sharply higher home prices in urban regions...

Sharply higher home prices in urban regions put home ownership beyond the reach of 69% of California households during March, according to a real estate trade group’s monthly housing affordability index. Only 31% of California households had the annual income required to qualify for a 30-year mortgage loan on the median-priced home, which sold for $151,725 in March, the California Assn. of Realtors reported. The group assumes that households could make a 20% down payment and spend 30% of income each month for housing. At the March median price, a household needed a minimum annual income of $46,325 to qualify for a mortgage loan with monthly payments of $1,158.