Once a haven for first-time homeowners priced out of the Los Angeles County and Orange County markets, the Inland Empire is itself fast becoming less affordable, according to a study by the Southern California Assn. of Governments released Thursday.
The percentage of households able to afford a median-priced home in Riverside and San Bernardino counties dropped from 48% in 2001 to 18% last year, as the median price for an Inland Empire home increased from $157,000 to $374,000 during the same period, the study found.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday December 21, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 48 words Type of Material: Correction
Home affordability: A chart in Friday's California section about the region's population growth flipped the statistics for San Bernardino and Ventura counties. In 2005, San Bernardino County's population was nearly 2 million, up 2.1% from the previous year, and Ventura County's population was 817,000, up 0.8% over 2004.
On a positive note, homeownership in Riverside County reached 70%, a higher percentage than the national average.
Still, people continue to flock to the Inland Empire, an area that represents about half the population growth, job creation and new housing in the six-county region that also includes Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Imperial.
"What you are seeing is the Inland Empire coming of age," said Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge, who led the SCAG task force that rated the region's employment, income, housing, mobility, air quality, education and safety.
As part of the growth process, the two-county area is beginning to suffer some of the same problems as its coastal neighbors, such as increased traffic congestion.
Overall, Southern California -- whose 18.2 million residents represent 6% of the nation's population -- got a mixed performance review: The region created thousands of jobs last year but payrolls declined slightly compared with 2004.
On the other hand, the higher cost of living, driven by increased housing and energy costs, helped stabilize the region's air pollution and what one SCAG official called its "intolerable" traffic congestion.
While population growth in Southern California has been slowing, the number of people moving to Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties continued to grow by up to three times the national rate, the SCAG study shows.
Nearly half of the 222,000 people who moved to Southern California last year chose to live in the Inland Empire, according to the annual assessment. Riverside County alone welcomed 65,000 new residents, increasing its population by 3.4%.
Loveridge compared his region's growth to the boom that hit Orange County and the San Fernando Valley years ago. "You try to learn lessons," he said, "but there are clearly market forces and social forces that help shape what takes place."
