LA's Housing Crisis: 97% of Residents Priced Out of Homeownership

Los Angeles is facing a severe housing affordability crisis, with only 2.8% of non-homeowner households able to afford a typical mortgage. This crisis is driven by high mortgage rates, extreme lack of housing supply, and soaring home prices. The median home price in LA has surged to $1,050,000, more than double the national median. Factors contributing to this crisis include strict zoning laws, high construction costs, limited land availability, and wage growth that hasn’t kept pace with housing costs or inflation. The situation is so dire that the household income needed to afford a median-priced house in California is $197,057, more than twice the average household income in the city.