San Luis Obispo is Second Least Affordable Market under 500,000 People

If the local Realtors are telling you that housing prices in San Luis Obispo are cheap now, and that you had better buy one now before they start moving up again, first read my article San Luis Obispo Real Estate is not a buy this Summer, and then keep in mind just how unaffordable SLO housing is still. According to the First Quarter 2008 National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released last month, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles is the second least affordable market among metro areas smaller than 500,000 people. I can hear many of you saying it’s a reflection of how desirable the area is. I understand that’s a big factor, obviously. But to understand why it is not everything, think about who is the number one least affordable in this list: our neighbor to the north, Salinas — not exactly what most would consider high up in the desirability scale.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo HOI is a measure of the percentage of homes sold in a given area that are affordable to families earning that area’s median income during a specific quarter.

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