“Average” homebuyer, “typical” house and the problem with “affordability”

Late last year, Southern California residents received what was supposed to be the magic home buying number: $96,513.

That, according to mortgage researcher HSH.com, is the before-tax income a buyer needs to take home annually to “afford” an “average” home in the Los Angeles metropolitan statistical area (MSA) at the “typical” 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) interest rate for (Q3) of 2014.

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