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Study: San Diego Has Some Of The Most Cost-Burdened Homeowners In The Country

A "for sale" sign is pictured in front of a house in Chula Vista in this file photo from July 21, 2020.
Alexander Nguyen
A "for sale" sign is pictured in front of a house in Chula Vista in this file photo from July 21, 2020.
A recent study by LendingTree says about 40 percent of San Diego homeowners spending one-third or more of their income on mortgages and other associated costs.

A recent study from the loan website LendingTree found San Diego has some of the most cost-burdened homeowners in the country with about 40% of homeowners spending one-third or more of their income on mortgages and other associated costs.

RELATED: First-Time Homebuyers Struggle As San Diego County’s Median Home Price Soars

The study ranks San Diego third in the nation behind Los Angeles and Miami.

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Phillip Molnar, who covers real estate and business for The San Diego Union-Tribune, said that while the cost of housing increased 20% during the pandemic shutdown, wages for many workers remained nearly stagnant creating a larger divide in housing disparities further pushing homeownership out of reach for some.

RELATED: Conrad Prebys Estate Putting Thousands Of Low-Cost Apartments Up For Sale

"During the pandemic low-income people were hurt the hardest by this stuff. So they probably are so far outside of their chances of buying a home at this point that we don't know if the study will change that much. If they couldn't get a house before, it's going to be way harder now with prices that have gone up more than 20% in San Diego County," Molnar said.

He joined Midday Edition Tuesday to talk about the study and what that means for San Diego homeowners and renters.