We Would Like to Point Out, in the Gentlest Possible Fashion, That This Times-Standard Story is Incorrect | Lost Coast Outpost

We are in Lost Coast Outpost love and respect from our crosstown colleagues Eureka Times-Standard. Let the ad salespeople in our individual publications tear each other’s throats on the battlefield. Let people make money Spy v. Spy on their way to victory against Ingomar cocktails. All as it should, and sometimes it’s an amazing sight!

But don’t think that any of that can destroy the strong brotherhood that our content creators enjoy. I say this again: We love and cherish our crosstown partners in Times-Standard. More than one of us was with their ranks, before! Before we get out of GTFO there, I explain.

All that being said, we feel we need to teach in the most gentle way possible that a story has just emerged. TS website-a story titled “only 30% of homes can afford and homes in Humboldt County”-is incorrect.

Why is this wrong? Well, in the story, reporter Sonia Waraich, who does a lot of work, looks at the quarterly affordability data collected by the California Association of Realtors, which is a useful thing to do. There he found that the association’s “Housing Affordability Index” for Humboldt County had dropped to 30-from 39 a year ago.

What is the housing affordability index? The California Association of Realtors explains:

The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) of CAR’s Housing Affordability Index (HAI) measures the percentage of homes that are able to buy at a median price, a California homeowner. CAR also reports affordability indices for regions and selected counties within the state.

So what does that mean? This means, according to association estimates, that 30 percent of Humboldt County families can afford the median price home to sell in Humboldt County – up from 39 percent of families a year ago.

But what does TS mean? It says:

By the start of 2021, about 39% of homes will be able to afford a single -family home in the county, but that fell to 30% at the start of the year, according to data released earlier this month by the California Association of Realtors.

Did you notice the missing word, there? That word is “median.” It should be said: “By 2021, about 39% of households will be able to afford it the median pricesingle-family home in the county, but dropped to 30 percent earlier this year… ”

Says only 30 percent of households buy a housevery different than to say only 30 percent of households can afford to buy the median-priced house. Because why? Because there are so many homes for sale already cheaperthan the median-priced house. Exactly half of them, in fact!

Thanks for allowing me this gentle correction, for which I apologize, and #savelocalnews.