Higher Rates Squeeze Riverside County Buyers

Riverside County housing affordability slipped in Q2 as higher mortgage rates and rebounding home prices made ownership harder for prospective buyers locally.
Just 28% of Riverside County households could afford the median-priced single-family home in Q2, compared with 29% in Q1 and 25% yearly.
The county's median-priced single-family home was $640K in Q2, and buyers needed a minimum annual income of $159.6K to qualify for purchase.
Even with yearly improvement, affordability remained near historic lows as elevated housing costs and borrowing expenses continued limiting homeownership opportunities in Riverside County.
The quarter showed a mixed picture: affordability eased from a year earlier, but higher financing costs and rebounding prices still squeezed Riverside County buyers.