AFTER SIX CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS OF DECLINING AFFORDABILITY, housing prices in California stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to a recently released report from the California Association of Realtors.

CAR’s traditional Housing Affordability Index, which measures the percentage of all households in the state that can afford to purchase a median priced home, remained at 32 percent for the fourth quarter of 2013 but is well below a reading of 48 percent for the fourth quarter of 2012.

Statewide, the median price for an existing single-family home in the fourth quarter stood at $431,510. A family purchasing this home needed income of $89,240, according to CAR analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the median price in California stood at just $352,450 and a homebuyer needed just $66,860 in income to purchase a home.

At the county level, affordability has been mixed. Most counties in the Bay Area remained the same or improved, with the exception of Sonoma, where it decreased. In Southern California, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have seen affordability drop as home values have rebounded. Madera County in the Central Valley ranked the most affordable county in the state with an index of 67 percent; San Francisco and San Mateo counties were the least affordable, with an index of just 16 percent.

In the nine-county Bay Area, the most affordable place to buy a home is Solano County, where the index remained unchanged from the third quarter at 56 percent.

As an interested observer, I have always wondered why values in Solano County seem to trail significantly behind other Bay Area counties. The Bay Area debates and complains about rising home values and a lack of affordable housing, but I rarely hear anything about this great area just across the bridge that remains amazingly affordable compared to other nearby cities.

Look at Benicia. The quality of life, ease of commute and quality of schools compare nicely — or perhaps even favorably — to many cities with substantially higher values in neighboring counties. Yet for some reason values trend much lower here.

When I watch the morning news I am always baffled by the daily gridlock coming out of eastern Contra Costa and other points to the east like Tracy. I can’t imagine why these folks put up with these commutes each day. Vallejo, Suisun, Fairfield and Vacaville all have comparable or better lifestyles than these areas. It just seems a no-brainer to me that if I were commuting to San Francisco each day, riding the ferry is hands down a more enjoyable commute than BART — or even worse, sitting in gridlock day after day.

Why is it that Solano County never seems to be in the conversation about affordable and enjoyable places to live in the Bay Area? I would love to hear from readers on why you think we are the forgotten county, and what you think we can do to get into the conversation.

Guy Benjamin (CA BRE License #01014834) writes a weekly column for The Herald. Readers may contact him at 707-246-0949 or gbenjamin@rpm-mtg.com.

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