California Ranks Second for Most Expensive Homes

A new study reveals that California ranks second for most expensive homes for sale.

The study, conducted by luxury villa rentals SopranoVillas, gathered data from Zillow to find out the number of properties for sale for over $1 million in each US state and the percentage of the population which would be able to pay for a mortgage on said properties.

• Hawaii ranks first, scoring the highest for percentage of houses for sale for at least $1 million (35.9%) and percentage of salary spent on mortgage (82.81%).
• California is second, with 25% of homes for sale for at least $1 and 64.17% of average salary spent on mortgage.
• Massachusetts takes third place, while Montana and Utah round out the top five.

These factors were turned into an index score out of 100 where the higher the score, the most expensive the properties in the state.

California is second, with a score of 88.56 out of 100. The percentage of houses for sale at $1 million or more is 25%, while the percentage of average salary spent on mortgages is 64.17%. The average yearly salary in California is $76,960 and the yearly mortgage is $49,388.

Hawaii ranks first, with a score of 100 out of 100. This is because it has the highest percentage of homes for sale at $1 million or more, and the highest percentage of salary spent on mortgages in the country, the first one being 35.9% and the latter 82.81%. Hawaii reports an average yearly salary of $65,030 and yearly mortgage payments of $53,853.

Massachusetts comes in third place, with a score of 85.81 out of 100. While the percentage of homes for sale at over $1 million is 31.9%, the percentage of average salary spent on mortgages is 49.58%. The average salary in Massachusetts is the highest on the list at $80,330, and the yearly mortgage payment is $39,828.

Further down the list, Montana ranks fourth earning a score of 80.20 out of 100. The percentage of houses for sale for over $1 million is 18.5%, while the percentage of average salary spent on mortgage is 51.56%. The average yearly salary and the yearly mortgage payment are the lowest of the top five with $55,920 and $28,831.

Utah rounds out the top five, with a score of 79.51 out of 100. The percentage of houses for sale for over $1 million is one of the lowest at 16.6%, while the percentage of average salary spent on mortgage is one of the highest at 54.12%.

Idaho, New York, Colorado, New Jersey and Washington occupy positions six to 10, with scores ranging from 74.59 to 71.16 out of 100.

Lortenzo Baccin, CEO of SopranoVillas commented on the findings, “It is no secret that homes are becoming more and more expensive as time goes by, and the data shows that the percentage of houses for sale at over $1 million is fairly high. This, paired with the reality of how much of their salaries Americans are required to pay to have a roof over their heads – which is over or almost half in eight out of 10 cases – highlights the difficulties some may have, as household incomes do not necessarily match the rising cost of living in many states.”