th of real estate prices was not accompanied by comparable
growth of household incomes: the Housing Affordability Index (percentage of
households that can afford to buy a median-priced house) fell below 20 percent
in the early 2000s. The San Diego metropolitan area had one of the worst median
multiples (ratio of median house price to median household income) of all
metropolitan areas in the United States, a situation sometimes referred to as a
Sunshine tax. As a consequence, San Diego experienced negative net migration
since 2004. A significant number of people moved to adjacent Riverside County,
commuting daily from Temecula and Murrieta to jobs in San Diego. Many of San
Diego's home buyers tend to buy homes within the more affordable neighborhoods,
while others are leaving the state altogether and moving to more affordable
regions of the country.
San Diego home prices peaked in 2005, then
declined as part of a nationwide trend. As of December 2010, home prices were
60 percent higher than in 2000, but down 36 percent from the peak in 2005. The
median home price declined by more than $200,000 between 2005 and 2010, and
sales dropped by 50 percent
