Rising home prices and a slight increase...

Rising home prices and a slight increase in mortgage interest rates caused housing affordability to fall to the lowest level in more than two years during May, the California Assn. of Realtors reported. According to the group’s May housing affordability index, only 28% of California households could afford to purchase an existing, single-family detached home at a median price of $160,073. The index represents the percentage of households with the annual income needed to qualify for a 30-year mortgage loan on the median-priced home at prevailing interest rates, with a 20% down payment and 30% of monthly income spent on payments.