More homeowners in LA have incomes over $100,000

A stable job and steady income used to be enough to buy a house in Los Angeles.  But these days, making over $100,000 is often what it takes.
Angelenos hitting that bar increasingly make up a larger share of homeowners. Those with incomes higher than $100,000 — about double the median income — made up 40 percent of homeowners in 2014, up from just over a quarter in 2000, according to data from the Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County.

Meanwhile, less wealthy Angelenos are increasingly being shut out. The number of homeowners who make less than $100,000 fell by some 84,000 households.

The total number of homeowners barely budged during that period, creeping up just under 1 percent. That entire increase was comprised of new homeowners making more than $100,000.

Mortgage broker Alexander Estrin of Beverly Hills-based Western Capital Group said while home prices have soared, access to credit has tightened since the recession.

It’s a predicament for one of his clients who hopes to buy in Woodland Hills or Canoga Park.

"He’s a market research analyst and the wife is a medical assistant," Estrin said. "I mean, they’re making good money" – more than $90,000 a year combined.

But Estrin said his client got turned down for a loan in part because he doesn’t have a two-year work history or enough to put down on a home in his desired range around $640,000.

"Back in the day, in 2007, he could get this house, he would be able to make the payments. But due to the current guidelines, this person can’t buy," Estrin said.

But the very wealthy, who can more easily put forth large down payments, can buy. Angelenos earning over $150,000 were the fastest-growing of all income groups purchasing homes. Their numbers went up by 93 percent between 2000 and 2014.