Inland Empire region have fallen to 2001 lev-
els. After adjusting for income growth, the
First-time Buyer Housing Affordability calcu-
lated by the California Association of
Realtors, which estimates the share of first-
time homebuyers able to afford the median-
priced home, reach 79% in the Inland Empire
region during the second quarter of 2009.
This is a level unseen in this decade. In fact,
for most parts of the region, the net cost of
owning a median-priced home is lower than
the average apartment rent, thanks to the
low home prices and record-low mortgage
rates. This has drawn in both investors and
first-time homebuyers who help absorb the
inflow of foreclosed homes.
first-time homebuyers' fear of "missing the
bandwagon," in 2006 the median home
prices reached $420,000 and $366,000 in
Riverside and San Bernardino counties, re-
spectively. Since then, home prices have
fallen to levels in mid-2001. This means that
many of the mortgages issued since 2002 are
upside-down, not to mention earlier mort-
gages that have been refinanced with cash
out at the inflated prices. With so many
mortgages potentially at risk, the region is
not out of the woods yet. Instead of falling
prices, rising unemployment is now perhaps
the most important contributing factor to
mortgage
programs were targeted at subprime mort-
gages, this new wave of mortgage crisis have
been largely ignored.
Incentives
ically distressed areas throughout California.
Special state and local incentives encourage
business investment and promote the creation
of new jobs. The purpose of the Zone program
is to provide state tax incentives to businesses
and allow private sector market forces to revive
the local economy.
substantial tax credits and benefits including:
property
for 15 years
deduction
of Indio, the City of Coachella, and the
County of Riverside unincorporated regions
of Thousand Palms, Bermuda Dunes, Mecca
and Thermal as part of the Coachella Valley
Enterprise Zone.
Enterprise Zone
215 D Street · San Bernardino, CA 92415
909-387-4700