San Diego mortgage bite remains mighty

Despite the staggering rise in San Diego home prices (the median is more than $500,000), the percentage of your income going to your mortgage is only a little bit higher than it was in the 1985–2000 period, according to latest Zillow figures.

In the fourth quarter of last year, San Diegans shelled out 35.6 percent of median household income for a mortgage. Nationally, the figure was only 15.8 percent — less than half.

But between 1985 and 2000, San Diegans paid 34.1 percent of household incomes for a home. So the bite is about the same.

But it's a mighty bite. Of the 35 largest metro areas, only Los Angeles (43 percent), San Francisco (42.2 percent), and San Jose (42.6 percent) were higher at the end of last year.

It's a similar situation for renters. In San Diego, the percentage of income required is 42, compared with 29.2 percent nationally. Only three metro areas are higher: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami.

That 42 percent, though, is up considerably from the 34.6 percent in the 1985–2000 period.