San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties are state’s priciest housing markets, but not its least affordable

San Mateo County remains California’s most expensive housing market, with buyers needing an annual household income of $578,400 to afford the median-priced home of $2.27 million, according to the California Association of Realtors’ Third Quarter 2026 Housing Affordability report, That’s more than five times the income needed nationally to afford a median-priced home and translates to estimated monthly payments of $14,460, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance, based on a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.8%. San Mateo was the first county in California to cross the $500,000 income requirement in 2023. Despite these staggering costs, the share of households able to afford a home there held steady at 19% over the past year. Until recently, San Mateo and Santa Clara were the only two counties in the state where buyers needed an annual income above $500,000 to afford a median-priced home.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.