Houses in California Cost About Twice the National Average, Researchers Find

High home prices compared with the rest of the nation are nothing new for California, but prices now have soared to about double the national average. An Aug. 6 report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office details the housing affordability issues that are plaguing many Californians. The price of a mid-tier California home, $787,000, is more than twice that of a mid-tier home nationwide, $363,000, the analysts found. The bottom third of Golden State homes now cost about 32 percent more than the middle third of homes in the rest of the nation, according to the report. That makes buying a first home a challenge for many Californians....