Housing Prices

Home Prices Increase but are Still Lower than in Other Parts of California

Why is it important?

The median home price acts as a gauge for affordability levels. Clearly affected by supply and demand, the housing market is sensitive to interest rates and thrives when rates are low. In some areas an outstripping of supply has resulted in California having one of the lowest affordability levels in the nation. According to the California Association of Realtors, only about 30 percent of the state’s families can afford to buy a typical median-priced home, compared with 55 percent nationwide. California has the third lowest rate of homeownership in the nation, ahead of only Hawaii and New York. The median home price is the value at which half of all homes sold for a greater amount and half sold for a lesser amount.

How are we doing?

Similar to the state's increase, home prices in the Sierra Nevada more than doubled between 1997 and 2003, rising to nearly $300,000. Home prices in the Sierra have increased at roughly the same rate as in the state, but remain lower than the California’s average. North Central Sierra had the highest home prices, averaging $325,000 in 2003, while the East Sierra experienced the greatest increase between 1997 and 2003, more than doubling to $290,000. Prices in the South Central Sierra nearly doubled to $225,000, while the North Sierra experienced the smallest increase, 30 percent and had the lowest median home price at $150,000.

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