How SD is the Most Overleveraged Mortgage Market

Gonzalez: “Mortgage borrowers in San Diego will have a harder time paying off their loans than in other cities.”

SAN DIEGO—Many residents are simply taking on more mortgage debt than they can handle and putting very little money forward as a down payment, WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez tells GlobeSt.com. According to a recent nationwide study by the firm, mortgage debt in San Diego places the region in the 99^th percentile as most overleveraged in the country. The study shows the following statistics about San Diego:

• WalletHub Home Overleverage Score: 29.01 (83^rd percentile)
• Median Mortgage Balance: $301,335
• Median House Value: $463,300
• Median Income: $34,720
• Mortgage Debt-to-Income Ratio: 868% (94^th percentile)
• Mortgage Debt-to-House Value Ratio: 65% (16^th percentile)

Could anything have been done to prevent this overleveraging? “Many residents are simply taking on more mortgage debt than they can handle and putting very little money forward as a down payment,” Gonzalez says.

So, what does the future look like for these borrowers? “Mortgage borrowers in San Diego will have a harder time paying off their loans than in other cities,” Gonzalez says. “Future borrowers might find themselves in the same situation, since the current median house value is high at almost $500,000.”

The situation doesn't seem likely to reverse itself any time soon, with luxury builds dominating new housing construction in this market. As we recently reported, offering homes at a variety of price points and receiving high demand for each of them means that projects like Artesana make sense even for the San Diego market, Pardee Homes' San Diego-division president Jimmy Ayala tells GlobeSt.com. Pardee has launched a new phase of sales at its Artesana neighborhood, a collection of 56 luxury residences within the Pacific Highlands Ranch master-planned community in coastal North County San Diego.

Gonzalez: “Mortgage borrowers in San Diego will have a harder time paying off their loans than in other cities.”

SAN DIEGO—Many residents are simply taking on more mortgage debt than they can handle and putting very little money forward as a down payment, WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez tells GlobeSt.com. According to a recent nationwide study by the firm, mortgage debt in San Diego places the region in the 99^th percentile as most overleveraged in the country. The study shows the following statistics about San Diego:

• WalletHub Home Overleverage Score: 29.01 (83^rd percentile)
• Median Mortgage Balance: $301,335
• Median House Value: $463,300
• Median Income: $34,720
• Mortgage Debt-to-Income Ratio: 868% (94^th percentile)
• Mortgage Debt-to-House Value Ratio: 65% (16^th percentile)

Could anything have been done to prevent this overleveraging? “Many residents are simply taking on more mortgage debt than they can handle and putting very little money forward as a down payment,” Gonzalez says.

So, what does the future look like for these borrowers? “Mortgage borrowers in San Diego will have a harder time paying off their loans than in other cities,” Gonzalez says. “Future borrowers might find themselves in the same situation, since the current median house value is high at almost $500,000.”

The situation doesn't seem likely to reverse itself any time soon, with luxury builds dominating new housing construction in this market. As we recently reported, offering homes at a variety of price points and receiving high demand for each of them means that projects like Artesana make sense even for the San Diego market, Pardee Homes' San Diego-division president Jimmy Ayala tells GlobeSt.com. Pardee has launched a new phase of sales at its Artesana neighborhood, a collection of 56 luxury residences within the Pacific Highlands Ranch master-planned community in coastal North County San Diego.